“Western Care have been a constant companion”

CELEBRATING Michelle Finnerty is pictured at Western Care’s 50th Anniverary Mass in the Knock Basilica. Pic: Dick Heraty

GROWING up in Ballinrobe, our family would have known very little about the Western Care Association until my sister Michelle was born on December 28, 1986.
That was more than 20 years after Johnny Mee from Castlebar had written a letter to the Connaught Telegraph, ‘calling for a meeting of interested people to form an association of parents and friends of children with learning difficulties’.
By the time Michelle was born, Western Care was a growing organisation and my mam and dad were relieved to have their support, guidance and expertise at such an uncertain time in their lives.
That support and help has continued over the last 30 years, as Michelle has grown into a beautiful young woman, and developed and blossomed into a bright, independent, talented, funny and perceptive lady — as well as being a very special daughter and sister.
Western Care have been a constant companion during Michelle’s journey — helping her to stand on her two feet and to live her life.
Right up to the present day in Crann Mor where Michelle has been a service user for the last 12 years, and where the staff have become part of our extended family.
Every time you walk through the doors at Crann Mor you’re greeted with a warm, welcoming smile and as much tea as you can drink!
You can count on one hand the evenings that Michelle has come home, hopped off John Ivers’ bus, and not been happy, content, and bursting with news.
Michelle loves the safety and security of Crann Mor, and her stays at respite, where she has learned how to become more independent, how to find her own way, and to do her own thing. We all know that the Western Care Association, like so many other similar organisations, is going through challenging times in terms of its funding for vital services.
And there are many families, including our own, who have first-hand experience of how difficult it can be to access these services.
This serves as a reminder to all of us that while the 50th anniversary is a special and significant milestone that should be celebrated and applauded, the hard work, fund-raising and lobbying of our local representatives is as important now, if not more important, than ever.
I will leave the last words to Johnny Mee, the man who had the vision, foresight and courage to write the letter that changed lives forever in 1966.
“I have to say the groundswell of support we got from the people of Mayo was quite extraordinary,” Johnny told The Mayo News 10 years ago. “Once the lid had been lifted off it, once that veil of pride and prejudice had been torn to one side, people opened up their hearts and their minds and they rallied round the Association, later to become Western Care Association. There is an old saying that a trouble shared is a trouble halved.”

This is an edited version of a speech given by Mike Finnerty at the recent mass in the Knock Basilica to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Western Care Association.