Have you ever seen a guide dog and it's owner walking down a city street or country lane and wondered to yourself how it all happens - whose idea was it in the first place, how are the dogs trained, how does a blind person get a dog and who pays for it all?

Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is a registered charity founded in Ireland in 1976. Due to the passion and hard work of Mary Dunlop and Jim Dennehy, guide dogs became a reality for many blind and visually impaired people in Ireland. The first guide dogs were trained in Germany to guide former soldiers who had been blinded in the First World War. Guide dog training centres now exist in almost every country in the developed world. The Irish Guide Dog Centre is situated at Model Farm Road in Cork.

2001 marks the 25th anniversary of IGDB. Major re-developments at our centre in Cork will be completed this year. For the first year in our existence we are facing a deficit in our spending. However, our work will completely reduce a waiting list that has been there since our foundation.

Financial support from new friends and sources are particularly welcome in this our special year.

CONTACT : IRISH GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND

Kevin J. Kennedy : (212) 534 - 8867