Tubs surprises Tanseys with the gift of a car on Late Late

BIG SURPRISE Róisín Tansey and her mum Breda on The Late Late Show last Friday night.

Anton McNulty

EIGHT-year-old Róisín Tansey was once again the star of The Late Late Show on Friday night but for once she was left speechless when the family were gifted with a wheelchair-friendly Renault Scenic.
This was Róisín’s second time to appear alongside host Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late Show after she captured the hearts of the nation in September with her sense of humour and positive outlook on life.
Róisín is the daughter of Breda and Damien Tansey from Killasser and is confined to a wheelchair after suffering a spinal-cord injury at the age of three-and-a-half after a simple fall on a sofa at her home.
She has been receiving specialised treatment for the past four years regaining some movement. She has learned to live with her condition and has become an accomplished artist - using her mouth to paint.
After her appearance on The Late Late Show last September, Renault, who are the show’s sponsors, asked Róisín to draw a painting to mark their 120th anniversary.
The painting, which featured a Renault Scenic on a beach in Belmullet, was shown on the show and Róisín was quick to take Ryan to task after he accidentally referred to the painting as ‘that thing’, which had the audience in stitches with laughter.
When Ryan revealed Renault was giving the wheelchair accessible Renault to the Tansey family, Róisín’s mother Breda struggled to hold back the tears as she thanked Ryan for the gift.

‘Emotional day’
Róisín recently made her First Holy Communion and while she played down the significance of the occasion, Breda admitted it was an emotional day.
“We had the celebration at home because five years ago we thought we would never see the day. It was very special. We had an ice cream van and we had a clown and it was very good. It was emotional,” she told Ryan.
Breda also explained that they were currently in the process of getting a new wheelchair for Róisín as her current chair had ‘a lot of miles on it’.
“We are waiting for a new wheelchair. We were waiting a couple of months for a review and that happened and now we are waiting for funding. Funding takes months to get because they [wheelchairs] are so expensive. It comes through Enable Ireland. The chair costs €20,000 and they only get about €20,000 a month for all of the kids so it takes months to get a bit to fund a chair. It’s her only form of independence to get around,” she said.
The sixth annual Tóchar PhΡdraig walk in support of the Róisín Tansey Trust Fund takes place on Saturday, July 7. The 22 mile sponsored walk from Ballintubber Abbey to Croagh Patrick is a fundraiser for the purchase of equipment and Róisín’s ongoing treatment.
The family thanked all those who have taken part in and contributed to all of their fundraisers to date and said their continued support is very much appreciated.
Anyone interested in taking on the Tóchar challenge can contact James by phone/text on 087 9622946 or by email at james.keane@hotmail.com.