With as many as 7,000 Polio Survivors estimated to be still living with disabilities brought on by the disease, notable buildings around Ireland are lighting up blue to mark World Polio Day on Monday 24th October, including Dublin City Hall, Cork City Hall, Christchurch Cathedral Dublin, Kilkenny Castle and An Táin at the Town Hall, Dundalk.
The Post Polio Support Group is working to raise awareness of the continuing difficulties faced by those who survived the original virus in Ireland in the 50s and 60s, during the polio epidemics. Some are suffering from the late effects of Polio, also known as Post Polio Syndrome, significantly increasing their disability and causing pain and fatigue later in life, as many as 20-40 years after the original virus struck.
As well as lighting buildings blue, we are holding a Scooter Scramble in Mondello Park, at the Irish Rallycross Championship on Sunday, 24th October with members on mobility scooters being pitched against Rallycross drivers on an assault style course.
The Post Polio Support Group has also been donated a painting of the 1916 signatory, Sean Mac Diarmada, who was himself a Polio Survivor. The painting by Carol Quinn Wallace, an artist who has rendered this beautiful portrait as part of a 1916 ‘A Nation Rises’ exhibition, is to be auctioned by the Post Polio Support Group as a fundraiser. This will help the Group continue to provide vital services to Polio Survivors.
More information to follow as we approach World Polio Week starting Sunday 23rd October at Mondello! Come join us there.