The family of a disabled woman previously unable to holiday due to a lack of suitable accommodation have been surprised by a hotel in Killarney with a free stay in a room with a hoist. 

On Lunchtime Live, Carmel explained that her 28 year old daughter, Caoimhe, uses a wheelchair that has been specifically designed for her disability. 

While the chair helps her get out and out, there are also limitations to what Caoimhe can do. 

“She is supported from head to toe,” Carmel explained. 

“She can’t sit in any other chair, except this chair that has been specially made for her. 

“So, going on an airline, going on another chair, that’s not possible.

“So, we holiday at home.” 

Despite their best efforts, Carmel said the family has struggled to find a hotel that would be suitable for the family to stay in. 

“The challenge for us is there is no hotel, to my knowledge, that offers you a track and hoist system for transferring,” she said. 

“Very many of them say that they’re accessible; they mean that you can get into the hotel, that you can get into the room, that the door is wide enough, that they have certain bathroom facilities. 

“But it’s the transferring out of the chair that nobody offers.” 

Previously, the family considered themselves “lucky”, because Caoimhe is light and could be lifted in and out of her chair by family members. 

“Our other daughter, Aoife, was available on holidays,” she said. 

“So, we’d do a three man lift.” 

The search for a hotel

However, Aoife has recently moved abroad for work and Carmel feels they would not be able to manage without her. 

“Caoimhe will be getting her holidays from her lovely Enable Ireland service in Thurles for three weeks in August,” she said. 

“But we can’t go anywhere; we can’t lift anymore. 

“We’re not able to lift her on our own and there is no hotel, to my knowledge, that offers that service.” 

Listening to Carmel’s story was Tom Randles from Randles Hotel in Killarney, County Kerry. 

His property was recently renovated and said he would “love” to offer Caoimhe a free stay. 

Young red deer in Killarney National Park. Picture by: Alamy.com. 

“We have built, to my knowledge, Ireland’s first accessible suite and it’s an accessible family room as well,” he said. 

“There’s a friend of mine who has accessibility requirements and he can’t go away with his family - there’s no family accessible room in Ireland. 

“So, this is a suite; it’s suitable for families, for individuals and I’d be delighted to have Carmel down. 

“We have put in a hoist; I believe we’re the first in Ireland to put in a hoist.”

Carmel described it as the “best news ever” and that she thought Killarney a “beautiful location”. 

Main image: A person in a wheelchair. Picture by: MoiraM / Alamy Stock Photo