The Guide Dog Movement in Ireland

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.

Training a guide dog begins at the age of six weeks. After its first year, with a volunteer Puppy Walker, the young dog is taken back into the Training Centre. Regular and intensive training sessions ensure that only the best dogs make the grade. At the age of about two years the dog is fully trained and is ready to be given to its new owner. A guide dog works for about eight years and Is then retired, to be replaced by a new dog. Traits such as intelligence, temperament and strength make the Labrador/Golden Retriever cross the best guide dogs. The once famous image of a German Shepherd leading blind people, while still in existence, is now a rarity.

The people who benefit from having a guide dog are those who are blind or visually impaired, who want a dog and who are capable of caring for it. Currently. 120 people in Ireland benefit from having a guide dog. Anyone over sixteen years can apply for a guide dog and anyone over eighteen years can own one. Redevelopments taking place at present at the Guide Dog Administration and Training Centre in Cork, will increase the output of guide dog units from 24 at present to 40 per year.

Enormous care goes into matching the blind person with their new guide dog. Failure at this stage would be detrimental, in terms of confidence, for both the blind person and the dog. The initial introduction of student and dog takes place at the Guide Dog Centre. The pair spend the 24 hours of each day together during a three-week intensive training course. When this new partnership between the blind person and their dog is formed, it creates one of the most unique relationships of man and animal and proof, if it is needed, that the dog is indeed man's best friend.

Guide dogs are provided free of charge. The costs of initial interviews, residential training, aftercare service and the maintenance and health care of the dog throughout its life are all met by the Association. A network of fundraising branches located all over Ireland supports the work of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Guide dog owners, their families and friends as well as a host of volunteers work tirelessly to provide the necessary funding to run the Association. It takes in the region of £1m. to do this in any one year.

From the care of brood bitches and stud dogs to the walking of puppies, from the taking up of church gate collections to the holding of monster fundraising events, volunteers are the backbone of the guide dog movement in Ireland. The generous contribution of so many people from ail over Ireland and beyond in the form of time, effort and financial support makes Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind a truly National Charity.

So the next time you see a guide dog and its owner on your street you should have some of the answer to the questions that will undoubtedly spring to mind. Any guide dog owner will be delighted to tell you about his or her particular story and what their guide dogs means to them.

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

They say on the west coast of Ireland that the next parish is America. And sure it's true. But there is a little place in between that we should not forget. The Aran Islands, just off the coast of County Galway, is really the very last piece of Irish soil to reach towards the West. These special islands are the last piece of Ireland in many respects. Here the native tongue still survives as the spoken language. Here also small farms with the grass of only two or three cows are common and narrow winding laneways edged with stonewalls are the main thoroughfares. Here also lives a special couple, Rory Conneely and his guide dog, Geoff.

Geoff is Rory's second guide dog. Their partnership is unique in many respects but in term of blind person and guide dog - it's just another success story. Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind (IGDB) celebrate 25 years in existence in 2001. The base of IGDB is in Cork in the south of Ireland and it is to here that Rory went for training and collected his guide dog almost three years ago. Up to the present time, facilities were humble and the number of trained guide dogs produced was small. But humble beginnings has led to heady heights.

In this anniversary year, major redevelopments at the training and administration centre at Model Farm Road will lead to the production of 40 guide dog units each year and a total reduction of a waiting list that has existed of many years. These state of the art, world leading facilities are now the pride and joy of the National Charity and herald a new beginning and a opportunity for the blind and visually impaired community in Ireland.

Visitors to the Aran Islands, famous for the Aran Sweater, are by now familiar with the sight of Rory and his trusted friend. Whither working on his small holding, walking to the local shop or taking a trip on the ferry into Galway city, this perfect couple always turn heads as they work together in harmony and safety. A guide dog is more than a means of mobility and independence - it also proves a faithful friend and clever companion. Rory can do his farm work - save his hay and tend his cows, he can walk the length and breath of Inis Maan - the islands where he lives, attend hospital appointments and visit friends in total confidence and assuredness with the help of Geoff who is now 5 years old. Geoff will be retired at the age of 10 years and he will then be replaced with another guide dog fresh from the ranks of the training centre in Cork.

IGDB is voluntarily funded. Demands are greater than ever on account of redevelopments. The new facilities at headquarters in Cork have cost almost £2m and in addition to this once off expense it takes over £1m to provide the service each year. Fundraising for the charity is done on a voluntary basis by fundraising branches all over Ireland.