‘SPORTS FOR ALL’ - A fun-filled initiative in Tipperary giving ‘additional’ joy to everyone

In this life some things can never be measured, intangibles such as kindness, love, joy, laughter, sweetness and altruism. But if they could, I would have gladly bottled them in abundance at a recent child-friendly event in Clonmel. The occasion was an oasis of “managed chaos,” amongst humble volunteers and outstanding young children, a safe place for self expression, simplicity in life, and society at its best.

‘Sports for All,’ an initiative for children with additional needs has been running in Clonmel since March 2022, under the guidance of a group of volunteers from St Mary’s Hurling & Camogie Clubs, led by chief organiser Michael O’Reilly. It takes place every Saturday afternoon for one hour between 2-3 pm at the Loreto Secondary School gym, kindly provided by school principal, Anne McGrath. And the format for the ‘Happy Hour’ is splendid in its novelty. It is a play area where kids, aged between 4 and 12, can come along to enjoy the companionship of each other and volunteers in a care-free, fun-filled, non-judgemental environment.

The activities are playful, many and varied, without any strict timescale format, just “managed chaos” of friendship, energy, laughter and smiles in a fully safe atmosphere. The supervised children drift from one activity or game to another as they see fit, and sometimes to a quieter part of the hall to relax, draw and colour, and back again to balls or hopscotch, or flag waving or whatever, when it suits.
A pool of approximately 20 children from the Clonmel area and hinterlands avail of the exercise/ entertainment, coming and going every or some weeks as might suit family schedules, etc., but, by and large, ‘Sports for All’ runs 52 weeks a year.

Parents are welcome to stay and sometimes, as confidence builds, may pop out during the hour, or leave their child for the full session if pressed. The organisers are delighted to extend a welcome to any other children in the local area with additional needs to come along any Saturday and see for themselves the benefits of the activities, and the immeasurable value of big laughter and huge smiles.
The feedback via the parents from the children (some of whom are non-verbal) is heartwarming; the more usual comments being such as “coming out of their shell,” “uplifting,” “love coming back,” “look forward to every Saturday,” “love to mingle and play.”

One such boy is seven-year-old Elijah who was there with mum Hazel who couldn’t say enough about the positives “of being part of such an inclusive group like this because really there aren’t a lot of places like it for children with additional needs,” she said.

Elijah, who attends mainstream primary school at Presentation Clonmel, “really looks forward to it every week and counts down the days to each Saturday. It is great for him here, running about, mixing with the others and simply being himself without any pressure,” said Hazel.

“There is no strict structure to the activities and that suits Elijah, there is no pressure on him to do this or that. He can run around like mad, burning up energy, or he can take a break, go do some colouring, play some more, go with the flow, and that is all good. Last week with the sunshine they went outside for the hour and that was great fun too,” added Hazel.

Five-year-old Hunter was there with his dad Michael who described all the volunteers as "unbelievable people" adding that “we would be lost without them.”

“We have been coming here almost every week now since it started and it is brilliant. It is one of the highlights of the week for Hunter. When we arrived today he was bouncing around in the car with excitement as we came through the gates - he loves it,” said Michael.

Hunter, who attends the Brothers of Charity Pre-School in Clonmel five days a week for 2-3 hours daily, is now looking forward to starting in Scoil Aonghusa in Cashel in September.

“The set up here every Saturday is great. Everyone is made to feel so welcome, there is no anxiety on the parents here and there is no feeling of being judged as there sometimes can be for parents in other situations. Hunter is non-verbal and can be ‘full-on’ but here every Saturday, he just loves the fun, the running about with the other children, the freedom of it all,” added Michael.

Not that any of the volunteers ever want praise or even mention for what they enjoy doing, but for the sake of perhaps guiding other parents of children with additional needs towards availing of the free of charge initiative every Saturday the volunteers include: Aoife Bond, Mags Leahy, Paul O’Dwyer, Carol Kennedy, Eimear Cooney, Orla Delaney, Zoe Farrell, Karen Ferris, Grainne Mangan, Neil O’Connor, Audrey O’Reilly, Suzie Power, Michelle Ryan.

Should anyone wish to get in touch, Michael O’Reilly can be contacted at 086 8143588, or alternatively you can check out Twitter @StMarys_HC

(See this week's edition of The Nationalist for more images from the event).