This week, over 120 amateur cyclists will join the legendary Seán Kelly in the 600km Tour de Munster in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI). In the last four years, the event has raised €1.1m for the association in Munster to fund essential services from speech therapy to literacy skills. One of the latest initiatives – all thanks to the Tour – is cookery classes for young people with Down’s syndrome, run by the Tipperary branch of DSI.
Launched in January, the classes are held in Tipperary town, Cahir and Ballycahill, with small groups of two to three students to maximise hands-on time. So far, there are 11 students, but the pilot programme has shown great potential, says cookery teacher Eileen O’Donnell.
“We have made homemade soup and bread, pizza from scratch, shepherd’s pie, chicken stir-fry, wraps, homemade lemonade, apple pie,” she lists. “One of the students is coeliac, so I also do a gluten-free class.”
Special safety equipment, like finger guards, allow the students to be hands-on with chopping and peeling, while tasks like measuring and weighing also help to develop their cognitive skills. The students have great potential and I’m trying to maximise that potential,” says Eileen. “But I’m learning from them as well.”
One of Eileen’s students is 19-year-old Joseph Keogh from Emly. An all-rounder, Joseph recently won a silver medal for golf skills at the Special Olympics Ireland games and is now aiming for his gold Gaisce award.
But according to his mother, Bridget, Joseph has truly benefited from taking part in Eileen’s cookery classes.
“This is a life skill,” she emphasises. “A lot of the other things he’s involved in are recreational and they are great, but this is something that every person needs to be able to do.
“The aspiration of our association would be to try to make them as independent as possible and this is definitely a big help.”
On a practical level, the classes have helped to develop Joseph’s understanding of concepts like time and measurements. In fact, he has even been known to correct his mother when she is cooking at home.
“I’m monitored, yes!” she laughs. “You know when you are weighing something, you might say: ‘Ah, sure, it’s close enough,’ but not with Joseph. And he always reminds me to check the oven. But really, it’s the smile it brings to his face and the self-esteem when he sees the product of what he has been involved in.”
Making a difference
Bridget is involved in co-ordinating fundraising in Tipperary town for the Tour de Munster and knows what a difference the event makes.
“Last year alone the branch got €34,000 from the Tour and it has raised €1.1 million for the association in the last four years,” she says.
“That’s huge for us. For example, we’ve been fortunate enough to employ a senior speech and language therapist and we’ve about 50 members benefiting from that. It just would not be an option without the funding from Tour de Munster.”
Other programmes include adult literacy, reading and language intervention, music, fitness and, of course, cookery. There are hopes to develop the pilot project as an eight-week course with a certificate, and also to produce a calendar with recipes.
But in the meantime, the students have been busy baking to feed the cyclists who will stop in Tipperary, with Joseph making a chocolate mud cake especially for the occasion. For parents like Bridget, it’s their way of saying thank you.
“When you consider all the cyclists are covering their own expenses, it’s a huge commitment on their part,” says Bridget. “The training they put in is enormous and when they arrive in Tipperary, the interest they show in our members is incredible.
”The slogan of Down Syndrome Ireland is ‘share the journey’ and they are certainly sharing the journey with us,” Bridget says.
But if anyone reckons they might pick up a few tips en route from Joseph and his fellow bakers, they’ll have to think again, says Eileen O’Donnell.
“They will not be divulging their recipes,” she jokes. “You’ll have to get the calendar for that.”
• The Tour de Munster takes place from 7-10 August, beginning in Waterford and continuing through all counties in Munster to finish in Cork. Visit www.tourdemunster.com or follow the Tour on Twitter @tourdemunster . • For information on Down Syndrome Ireland, visit www.downsyndrome.ie
This week, over 120 amateur cyclists will join the legendary Seán Kelly in the 600km Tour de Munster in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI). In the last four years, the event has raised €1.1m for the association in Munster to fund essential services from speech therapy to literacy skills. One of the latest initiatives – all thanks to the Tour – is cookery classes for young people with Down’s syndrome, run by the Tipperary branch of DSI.
Launched in January, the classes are held in Tipperary town, Cahir and Ballycahill, with small groups of two to three students to maximise hands-on time. So far, there are 11 students, but the pilot programme has shown great potential, says cookery teacher Eileen O’Donnell.
“We have made homemade soup and bread, pizza from scratch, shepherd’s pie, chicken stir-fry, wraps, homemade lemonade, apple pie,” she lists. “One of the students is coeliac, so I also do a gluten-free class.”
Special safety equipment, like finger guards, allow the students to be hands-on with chopping and peeling, while tasks like measuring and weighing also help to develop their cognitive skills. The students have great potential and I’m trying to maximise that potential,” says Eileen. “But I’m learning from them as well.”
One of Eileen’s students is 19-year-old Joseph Keogh from Emly. An all-rounder, Joseph recently won a silver medal for golf skills at the Special Olympics Ireland games and is now aiming for his gold Gaisce award.
But according to his mother, Bridget, Joseph has truly benefited from taking part in Eileen’s cookery classes.
“This is a life skill,” she emphasises. “A lot of the other things he’s involved in are recreational and they are great, but this is something that every person needs to be able to do.
“The aspiration of our association would be to try to make them as independent as possible and this is definitely a big help.”
On a practical level, the classes have helped to develop Joseph’s understanding of concepts like time and measurements. In fact, he has even been known to correct his mother when she is cooking at home.
“I’m monitored, yes!” she laughs. “You know when you are weighing something, you might say: ‘Ah, sure, it’s close enough,’ but not with Joseph. And he always reminds me to check the oven. But really, it’s the smile it brings to his face and the self-esteem when he sees the product of what he has been involved in.”
Making a difference
Bridget is involved in co-ordinating fundraising in Tipperary town for the Tour de Munster and knows what a difference the event makes.
“Last year alone the branch got €34,000 from the Tour and it has raised €1.1 million for the association in the last four years,” she says.
“That’s huge for us. For example, we’ve been fortunate enough to employ a senior speech and language therapist and we’ve about 50 members benefiting from that. It just would not be an option without the funding from Tour de Munster.”
Other programmes include adult literacy, reading and language intervention, music, fitness and, of course, cookery. There are hopes to develop the pilot project as an eight-week course with a certificate, and also to produce a calendar with recipes.
But in the meantime, the students have been busy baking to feed the cyclists who will stop in Tipperary, with Joseph making a chocolate mud cake especially for the occasion. For parents like Bridget, it’s their way of saying thank you.
“When you consider all the cyclists are covering their own expenses, it’s a huge commitment on their part,” says Bridget. “The training they put in is enormous and when they arrive in Tipperary, the interest they show in our members is incredible.
”The slogan of Down Syndrome Ireland is ‘share the journey’ and they are certainly sharing the journey with us,” Bridget says.
But if anyone reckons they might pick up a few tips en route from Joseph and his fellow bakers, they’ll have to think again, says Eileen O’Donnell.
“They will not be divulging their recipes,” she jokes. “You’ll have to get the calendar for that.”
• The Tour de Munster takes place from 7-10 August, beginning in Waterford and continuing through all counties in Munster to finish in Cork. Visit www.tourdemunster.com or follow the Tour on Twitter @tourdemunster . • For information on Down Syndrome Ireland, visit www.downsyndrome.ie 
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