Taking part in the charity wheelchair basketball match in Mercy Mounthawk, were, front from left: Ciaran Hattar, Dept Principal Pat Fleming, Dara O’Keeffe, Dara Devine, Mark Maloney, Liam Culloty. Back: Eoin McElligott, Giles Appleby, Donagh O’Brien, David Williams., Evan Doody, Ronan Fitzgerald and Robbie Dinan. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.
MERCY Mounthawk transition year students faced off against teachers in a match with a difference.
On Wednesday, competitors strapped themselves into wheelchairs for a charity basketball match with all proceeds going to the Kerry Hospice Foundation and the Irish Wheelchair Association.
The initiative was the brainchild of Mercy Mounthawk PE teacher, Olivia Dineen, who organised the first wheelchair basketball match for last year’s transition year class.
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This time around, she decided to take it one step further by organising a match between staff and students to help further awareness of what it’s like to spend time in a wheelchair.
“It looks easy, but as soon as you get going it gets extremely difficult,” said Deputy Principal Pat Fleming.
“The upper body strength is a huge requirement, it’s very tiring. You got to have great admiration for anyone that needs a wheelchair on a daily basis to get around,” he said.
Bringing them up to speed with the skills of the game and the basics of maneuvering in a wheelchair was, Paralympian and Irish Wheelchair Sport development officer, Paul Ryan.
“The kids see this as something cool and something fun, which is what games are meant to be,” said Paul Ryan.
“This is about changing the perceptions of what people with disabilities can do. If we expect them to do great things they probably will. It’s great that the school are interested in getting this type of activity going. We run this all over Munster and it’s all just very positive,” he said.
