Local man rallying to fundraise for Mayo-based Down Syndrome centre

Mayo man and rally competitor, David Mannion, is fundraising for a new Down Syndrome facility in Swinford.

The local man, whose two-year-old daughter, Ruby, was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at birth, began fundraising for the new facility at the Galway International Rally, and will continue his efforts at Sunday’s Mayo Stages Rally.

The Swinford facility, which is currently under construction, will be a centre of excellence operated by Down Syndrome Mayo. The centre will offer services to people with Down Syndrome, and their families, from babies to adults.

After the Galway International Rally, the current figure raised is just under €24,000, and the Mayo Stages Rally on March 3 will push the figure even higher.

Ruby’s Story

Speaking to The Mayo News, David said Ruby’s post-natal diagnosis was a ‘curveball’ for him and his wife, Cathy.

David and Cathy Mannion with their daughters.

Thankfully, Ruby has not had any health complications.

“She's hitting all the milestones, let me tell you, she's a typical two-year-old, she's full of devilment, she has everyone wrapped around her finger; she’s the boss of the house” said David.

David said the objective of the fundraiser is to shed positive light on people living with Down Syndrome.

“We don't treat her any differently than if she didn't have syndrome, and we don't want anyone else treating her any differently,” he said.

“She is our little baby girl at the end of the day, who just has Down Syndrome,” added David.

Rallying for awareness

David said after being involved in rallying for 17 years, finding a Down Syndrome community within the rally community ‘really opened [his] eyes’ and felt ‘reassuring’.

He first came across a Facebook group of  ‘a couple of fathers and parents’ of children with Down Syndrome, and he got in touch.

“I’m getting to meet an awful lot of people that I nearly know now in a Down Syndrome level as opposed to a rally level. You see a different side of it,” said David.

With the rally community being so big, David said it was already a supportive and welcoming group.

As well as Facebook, David’s fundraising page on Instagram has got him in contact with many people, including UK professional rally driver, Ryan Champion.

Mr Champion has a son with Down Syndrome, and so David sent him a message ‘asking about the stickers, slightly surprised to receive a response’.

“Ever since, Ryan has been sending me pictures, he recently sent a picture of a car in Sweden, the car came from Kenya, and it had the fundraiser stickers on it,” told David.

The sticker was also visible on Mr Champion’s Roger Albert Clarks winning Porsche 911 in 2021.

The sticker seen on a rally car

When it comes to events, stickers are handed out to those in attendance, and David said it always sparks conversation.

“You cheekily offer somebody a sticker, and they’ll say ‘oh, what's that for?’, and when you say it’s for Down Syndrome, they’ll say ‘oh I have an aunt, or a cousin’, or I know someone with Down Syndrome’, that’s what I mean about the Down Syndrome community within the rally community,” he said

David told The Mayo News that people are only delighted to ‘put [the stickers] on and raise awareness’.

In 2022, David printed a small number of stickers to share and stick on the rally cars.

Quickly, the demand for the stickers increased and Ronan Walsh, of Snap Printing, had very generously sponsored the first draft of stickers.

“I had to put in another order to Ronan, who once again graciously printed more,” said David. 

He added: “Ironically at Galway International Rally 2023, I was speaking with a competitor also part of the Down Syndrome community, and they asked if I had any more stickers, it lit a light bulb to up the ante and raise the profile and awareness”. 

Now, there are numerous sticker sizes, and people, both in and outside the rally world, have been messaging, asking for stickers to display on their cars.

The new centre

In speaking about what the new centre would mean to David’s family, and those like him, he said ‘the plan for the centre is to have various services offered out of it’.

Services offered will include occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, ‘even counselling services for our parents and families as well’ he said.

“The counselling for parents who might be struggling with things, that's the honest truth, I’m not going to deny that [for us] it didn't come in the shock at the time” he added. 

The centre of excellence will be run by DS Mayo, but it will be open to anybody who needs it, 

Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI) has 25 local branches and is focused on working to improve the quality of life of their members and let members be seen as valued members of society. 

The swing in the new playground as part of the centre

The late Máirt Campbell left his home to DSI so that it could be used to provide services and support to the Down Syndrome community.

It was his wish that the house would be used to provide the necessary and vital support needed. He wanted to provide a focal point that people could use to advance the outcomes for people with Down Syndrome.

DSI is redeveloping the house into a multi-functional regional centre, with a fully accessible and inclusive playground to the rear of the house.

The centre, located just outside Swinford, will be used for activities, seminars and educational purposes. Members will be able to access life-changing therapies such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, play therapy and also counselling if required. 

DSI foresees this centre being used to provide services for members throughout the West of Ireland.

The centre will also be a place where expectant parents can reach out for advice and to learn more about Down Syndrome as they embark on their new journey.

Builders on site hope to have the centre finished this year.

Overall, it will be a social hub for all people with Down syndrome and their families.

For more information, see Down syndrome Mayo or Rallying for Down Syndrome’s Instagram page; and to donate, see their iDonate page.