Rock & Roll bingo aid of Cork Down syndrome centreMelanie HUGE CROWD AT HIGH STREET BAR EVENT

BINGO with a difference attracted a large crowd to the High Street Bar in Newmarket last Saturday night where well known tracks were played and punters were asked to guess the name of the song and artist instead of the usual numbers system.

The ‘Rock & Roll Bingo’ event was organised by local woman Marie Goggin as a fundraiser for the recently established Cork Down Syndrome Centre which her son, Paudric, attends on a weekly basis.

Speaking to The Corkman, Marie outlined the outstanding progress Paudric has made since he started attending the centre a few months ago. “Paudric is three since last September, and he attends the centre every Thursday for speech and language, and occupational therapy. We have seen huge improvements since he started going, they are absolutely brilliant there,” Marie said.

Marie found out about the centre on Facebook and subsequently attended a meeting where she got to know lots of other parents with Down syndrome children. As the centre is not state funded those involved organise various events to raise the basic running costs of €150,000 per year. “I attended a ‘Rock & Roll Bingo’ event in Cork, and I thought it would go down well here in Newmarket. All proceeds from tonight will go to the centre,” Marie said.

Founding member Joanne O’ Hegarty from Ballynoe, who’s three year old daughter Olivia also attends the centre, told The Corkman that as parents of a Down syndrome child she and her husband felt that there was little support available in Cork. “Early intervention is key and we just wanted more support for parents, so a few of us met up in Ballygarvan in 2016 and we started the group. We are up and running with the past year and moved into the building at Forgehill in Cork last March,” she said.

“Parents with a newborn Down syndrome baby coming out of Cork University Maternity Hospital are now aware the centre exists. They can get in contact with us and we visit them or they can come in to us,” Joanne explained.

There are coffee mornings every two weeks and the centre is open to parents from any part of the country.

The Cork centre, which is affiliated with the already established branch in Dublin, provides early intervention services for children aged under seven years.

This exciting new centre

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provides speech and language therapy, a new SKIP programme, parent and baby classes and a networking community of support for parents. Early intervention is vital to enhance the quality of life of Down Syndrome children, ensuring that they thrive and have a successful and happy future just like any other child.

Readers can get in touch with the centre by phone, at 021 4915616, by email; info@dscork.ie and Facebook; The Down Syndrome Centre Cork.

Helen O’Keeffe, Joan O’Keeffe, Peggy Long, Lisa O’ Donoghue, Noreen Sheahan Jennings, Martin O’Keeffe, Maura Sheahan and Marie Forrest. Local girls Erin Foley, Liz Cronin and Emma Cronin supported the fundraiser for the Cork Down Syndrome Centre which...

Marie Goggin and her husband Christopher O’ Brien

Martina O’ Leary and Maureen O’ Leary, Glash, with Carmel O’ Flaherty, Newmarket and Sean O’ Riordan, Freemount, at the fundraiser for the Cork Down Syndrome Centre in Newmarket.

Melanie Harris and Jill Kelliher travelled from Tower, Blarney to support the fundraiser for the Cork Down Syndrome Centre which was held in Newmarket. ABOVE: A Joanne O’ Hegarty, Ballynoe, Robert Stephens (Rock & Roll Bingo) and Marie Goggin,...

Liz Bradley, Alison Fitzpatrick and Angela Regan

Noreen Sheahan and Breda McCarthy helping out at the fundraiser in Newmarket.