Narin couple Paul and Julie Dawson make their beach access dream come true

Narin couple Paul and Julie Dawson will today (Thursday) make the dream of providing a beach wheelchair for the beach at Narin a reality when they hand over this vital piece of equipment

Paul has been a wheelchair user for the past 12 years due to the fact he has to live with a progressive MS condition.

"We have been fundraising for the last year and we have raised a total of €18,000 for the wheelchair and shed and we’ve kindly donated anonymously a mobile hoist which will be used for transfers in and out of both chairs if necessary," says Paul

He adds the idea of fundraising for the chair was my wife Julie’s after they were kindly lent the use of the chair for a day to try out.

"We spoke about it and decided that everyone with limited mobility should have the opportunity to enjoy our wonderful blue flag beach so the fundraising began. We set up a gofundme page for people to make donations, we also had local raffles,

quizzes, online raffles and an '80s dinner dance at our local golf club

"We had tremendous support from local groups including Sharps Christmas lights, Portnoo swimming group, Ardara GAA and a local fitness class as well as personal donations from far and near. Local businesses have been vital in supporting the cause with many donations for prizes," he adds.

Julie and Paul will hand over the chair to the local Tidy Towns committee which will be responsible for the running of it on behalf of the community.

"We feel this chair will be a great asset to the community as well as holidaymakers as it’s not just for people with a disability or limited mobility but for everyone whether that be the elderly or those unable to walk the length of our Blue Flag beach."