Young Daniel’s dreams magically realised with a trip to a bus depot
By Mary Dennehy
DUBLIN Bus jumped on board to make a dream come true for a nine-year-old boy from Tallaght, who suffers from a rare syndrome that impacts on his ability to engage with others.
Daniel Tighe suffers with Sotos Syndrome, a rare condition that can cause severe intellectual disability, epilepsy, visual impairment, feeding and sensory issues and behavioural problems.
Due to these problems, social interaction is quite limited for Daniel, with the nine-year-old finding it difficult to engage with others – which also impacts on his love of buses.
Daniel’s mam Sinéad wrote to Irish charity Share a Dream Foundation and said: “Daniel has one dream and that’s to visit Conygham Road [bus garage in Dublin] to see all of the buses.
“He’d also love to go on the bus on his own as travelling with others is difficult for him due to his condition.”
The foundation contacted Dublin Bus, which immediately jumped on board to make this special dream a reality – and last week, Daniel, his parents and sister all pulled into the Conygham Road depot, which lies close to the Phoenix Park.
According to Ciara Brolly, Project Manager with Share a Dream: “The family was met by Dublin Bus representative Keith Graham who presented everyone with High Vis jackets before starting the tour.
“Then Daniel was taken off on a tour of the Conyngham Road depot where he visited the engineering department and maintenance area to see what actually happens.
“Afterwards Daniel visited the main workshop where he saw how all the buses are put on a bus pit to be fixed, etc.”
She added: “After receiving many gifts from everyone in Dublin Bus a brand new bus was brought out which Daniel and his family boarded to embark on a tour of Dublin City.
“The final stop was at the Phoenix Park for a special visit of Dublin Zoo.
“There Daniel met volunteer Beth who took him and all his family on a wonderful tour of the Zoo, and later he was presented with some gifts to bring a finish to a wonderful day out for Daniel and his family.”
For further information on Share a Dream, which wished to thank Dublin Bus and Dublin Zoo for making Daniel’s dream a reality, call 061 200080 or visit www.shareadream.ie.
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