Head Over Wheels

The new Lourdes…

hey say that if you have to ask someone for directions, pick the person with one leg – they’ll definitely know the shortest route.

Which is a flippant but dang funny way of saying that being disabled shouldn’t always be viewed as a disadvantage.

There are those who have found a strength, determination and ingenuity through their restrictions, a grace under a pressure that could easily be viewed as a show stopper. But instead sparked a very different kind of show stopper.

In his latest live Social Fabric podcast at The Whale, local smoother talker Andrea Splendori looks at reshaping the way we look at disability. And to help him along, he’s got two very special guests who have managed to make it to the top of their respective fields against all expectations and a stupid amount of odds.

Filmmaker Paddy Slattery’s has dozens of award-winning shorts and music videos to his name, including the critically acclaimed thriller Broken Law, which was recently picked up by Netflix.

Falling in love with filmmaking at an uncertain time in his life – after a severe spinal cord injury that has left him with life-changing injuries – Paddy explains, “My body switched off and my imagination switched on. It’s almost like when you deprive certain senses in the body, other ones become amplified. I felt like I was seeing, hearing, tasting and touching life in a completely different way”. You can check out our IFTN chat with Paddy here.

Having represented Ireland at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo and winning a bronze medal at the 2020 World Track Championships, Richael Timothy is rightly regarded as one of the country’s most talented cyclists.

Growing up in Roscommon, Richael’s athletic talent shone through as she represented her country as an Irish underage soccer international and inter-county footballer. However, her world was turned upside down when an acquired brain injury left her with severely impacted motor function on the right side of her body.

“If I got out of bed, my face would droop,” Richael says. “I’d walk and drag my foot. I couldn’t lift a cup with my right hand.”

Today, Richael is not only training to make the Paris Paralympics but has a degree in sports science and is doing a masters in performance coaching.

So, two shining examples of how having the right mental attitude can be life-changing – just in case you were wondering how to deal with what life has to throw at you.

The night is also a fundraiser for a local wheelchair user hoping to move his wheels up a gear or two.

You can find out more about Paddy and Richael when they take part in Against All Odds at The Whale on Thursday, April 27th at 8pm – tickets here.

More on Richael here, on Paddy here, and on the Social Fabric podcasts right here.