Special needs trikes for Roche All-Stars

There was plenty of excitement in St Helena’s Park on Saturday as Roche All Stars and Snap Kids Teens from Forkhill were presented with their very own state of the art special needs trikes.

The trikes are suitable for younger children aged 4-8 yrs to use and there was no shortage of young volunteers to help test them out on the day.

The trikes were donated as part of an All Ireland Cycling Disability Partnership run by the children’s charity, Variety Ireland.

Speaking at the event Kevin O’Brien of Variety Ireland said: “We’re in Dundalk today for the launch of Variety Ireland’s All Ireland cycling Disability partnership. It’s a project where we try to unite cycling groups both north and south of Ireland so that children can enjoy cycling activities and cycling days.”

Variety Ireland is a voluntary run children's charity that helps children from across the disability spectrum in Ireland.

He continued: “We don’t just specialise in one specific illness, we cover right across the board.

Olympians Eve McCrystal and Eilish Byrne with Roche Emmets GFC Chairman Alan O'Connell and children Leah Hanley and Louis Wall

“We don’t have paid CEOs, we don’t have paid directors, they all dedicate their time to the charity free of charge to ensure that we can help as many children as we can.

“We specialise in special mobility trikes and educational equipment so children with disabilities can be included for both their mobility and educational needs.

"We are also a green charity because we run a recycle mobility programme in conjunction with Minister Anne Rabbite and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth which allows funding of special mobility trikes so that children with disabilities can have access to cycling.”

Funding for the project comes from sponsors and the Department of Children and Department of Transport.