'We need to keep fighting': Hundreds join protest for special needs education in Cork

“I’m protesting for children who can’t find places in secondary and primary schools because they’re autistic or they have special needs, they’re finding it very hard, and it shouldn’t be that way,” Martin James Crowley told The Echo.

Martin is 11, going on 12, and from Knocknaheeny. As a member of award-winning, festival-playing, Late Late Show-appearing The Kabin Crew, Martin is what could legitimately be called a celebrity in Cork city.

Martin joined a crowd of about 500 people this afternoon, marching from City Hall across to the Grand Parade, to protest at ongoing issues in special education.

Martin is on the autism spectrum, and he says his mam has helped him to work with his autism.

“At one stage I was listening to a jazz performance and I was nearly crying over all the loud noises and now I’m up on stages making the loud noises myself,” he said.

Martin’s brother Patrick is in fifth class and awaiting a diagnosis, and has been fighting from a special class in secondary school.

Martin’s mam, Ellen, said Martin was lucky to be able to go to a mainstream school – St Mary’s on the Hill in Knocknaheeny.

“They’re fantastic, and he had a lovely SNA, Geraldine Barry, for four years, and she helped Martin, she was just brilliant, and The Kabin Crew as well, they help children with autism, they just brought out his confidence, and he’s in boxing as well,” Ellen said.

Martin said he was protesting for his brother Patrick, and for all the children who are not getting the education they need.

“Education is the most important part of your childhood, besides going out and getting fresh air and having fun,” he said.

“It shouldn’t be like this that kids are finding it so hard to get the education they need, that should be the responsibility of the Government, to find places and schools for children, because if children are to have a future, they need schools, everybody needs schools.” 

Martin stole the show on the Grand Parade, leading a spirited rap called Enough is Enough – “It shouldn’t matter if you have a disability / Everybody needs a school and possibilities / Finding a school for kids that are autistic / Why is that so unrealistic?” 

Karen McGrath, from Ballinacurra, said she was attending the rally with her son Charlie, who will be five next month.

She said the turnout was “fantastic”, despite earlier bad weather.

“It just goes to show the determination of mothers and families when they’re not getting the services they need,” she said.

“For Charlie, we were among the lucky ones to get a place for early intervention, but we know that primary and post-primary school places are so hard to get that we need to keep fighting for more special schools and more special classes, but also for individual therapy sessions from the community development network teams and primary care, because without them, our children regress, and what might be suitable today mightn’t be suitable for them tomorrow.” 

Ms McGrath said it was unfair that parents of children with additional needs also had to act as full-time advocates.

“At the moment we’re Charlie’s physiotherapists, we’re his occupational therapists and his speech and language therapists, as well as trying to hold down jobs, and fighting for fundamental services that are [children’s] right to have.

“Nobody wants to be out here, putting our children out here, but unfortunately it’s what we have to do to get the services,” Ms McGrath said.

The rally heard moving speeches from parents of children with additional needs, and from disability rights activists.

Leah O’Flaherty from Carrigaline told the crowd that she was at the rally with family and friends for every child in the country who had additional needs “and they need everybody here to shout and roar for them today”.

Nicole Hosford said she had not been able to secure a school place for her four-year-old daughter Libbycrae, who has autism.

She said she had paid more than €10,000 for therapies for Libbycrae, and she said there were close to 100 other children across Cork like her little girl, who were also unable to access the special schools or special classes they needed.

Ms Hosford said she is Libbycrae’s voice and she will continue to fight for her until she gets the school place she needs.

“I will not stop until I am in Buckley's on Shandon St, buying her uniform for school, like I did with my first child,” she said.

Addressing the crowd were Donnnhadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, Eoghan Kenny, Labour Party TD for Cork North Central.

Among the Oireachtas members present were Pádraig O’Sullivan and Séamus McGrath from Fianna Fáil, Ken O’Flynn for Independent Ireland, Liam Quaide from the Social Democrats, and Labour Party senator Laura Harmon, while several members of Cork City Council were also in attendance.