'It will be amazing for us as a family to enjoy the beach together'

The overjoyed mum of a little girl from Bettystown with special needs says she is "thrilled" that her daughter will finally be able to enjoy the coastline with the introduction of beach friendly wheelchairs.

Despite Bettystown Beach being on Abbie Rose's doorstep, the ten year old girl who was born with spina bifida and hydrocephaluscould could not enjoy the amenity with mum Denise being forced to make a 40 km round trip to Clogherhead Beach in Co Louth where beach accessible wheelchairs were available.

However all of that is in the past now with the launch of an accessible beach buggy service based in the new East Meath Civic Centre.

The beach wheelchairs will assist people with a physical disability and those with reduced mobility in accessing the beach and water. The two chairs – the Terra Wheels beach wheelchair is a durable wheelchair and is easily propelled by an attendant using the push handle; the Hippocampe is a beach friendly wheelchair allowing users to go into the water and swim while the chair floats.

The beach wheelchairs are available daily from 11am- 7pm in two-hour timeslots from the beach wardens’ hut, beside the Civic Centre.

"Abbie Rose is delighted, she had great fun trying it out on Monday and it's going to be amazing for all of us a family to be able to enjoy the beach together," said mum Denise O'Hehir.

"Abbie Rose is looking forward to the summer ahead and is already asking when we can go out on one again," she added. "It's brilliant, the set up is great, it's peace of mind that we can leave her wheelchair in the premises so you are not worried about leaving it lying around outside. "You can book it online in advance which is really handy."

Sports Inclusion Disability Officer with Meath Local Sports Partnership, Terry Donegan, said: "The beach is such a great amenity and we are lucky enough in Meath to have it on our doorstep so to be able to give everyone the opportunity to have equal access to the beach is massively important.

"Not every county has a coastline and for people with disabilities to be able to access the beach along with family members, peers or friends is a game changer. "There's a great sense of positivity around it and it's very exciting to be a part of the project."

Bernadine Carry, Environmental Education Officer, at Meath County Council, added: "It is a wonderful facility to have in the area and anybody with a disability can come and book out a wheelchair. There's an online booking system but we will also facilitate walks in.

The wardens will be there to show them the items and to make sure they're comfortable with using them. You can use it to travel the beach and one of the wheelchairs actually goes into the sea, so potentially, if you wanted to go for a paddle or a swim, and you had somebody competent to bring the person with the disability, you know the wheelchair works in that way also.

“They can return it when they're finished, and take it out anytime they want, free of charge. I'm really hoping that it will bring new recreational opportunities for peaceful people with disabilities who might not have been able to access it otherwise."

For more information, contact the Sports Inclusion Disability Officer, Terry Donegan on (046) 906 7887 or email tdonegan@meathcoco.ie.