Ireland-suggestions for disabled
 

Would like to hear from anyone who is disabled or has traveled with a person with a disability in Ireland.

My mother is not able to walk long distances and has difficulty on stairs and uneven surfaces...often used a scooter when traveling in the states.

I know from our previous trip that many of the sights and activities were not handicap friendly...hoping for some good suggestion to help plan our trip and make it enjoyable for all.

For now, looking at traveling mostly in the w/sw...Doolin, Dingle, Kenmare, Cashel, Clifden, Westport.

In 1999, we took my wife's father, who was then 81, to Ireland. His vision is VERY poor and so he walks rather unsteadily. It wasn't too bad, as there were 5 of us to share the "burden".
In 2000, my wife and I took her father and mother to Ireland. My mother in law was 74 and has had two hip, and one knee replaced.
Both situations meant that there were places we did not go and sights we did not see, but the overall opinion (of all four of us) is that the memories of the trip are/were irreplaceable and worth every difficulty and obsticle.
Consider a lightweight, fold-up walker and, if possible, a travel wheelchair.
I think you will find both immensely useful.

thanks for the encouragement. I'm sure that just being in Ireland with my parents will be memorable.

do you have any suggestions of sights/activities that were accessible.

I know you post here often...do you have your 99 or 2000 trip reports somewhere...way back?

Sadly the only trip report, thus far, is for 2004. Since we have a fair amount of family (and family history) in Ireland, much of our time was spent visiting non-traditional locations, although we did a two-day tourist visit to Dublin (complete with the Hop-On/Hop-Off, double decker bus tour and a meander up Grafton Street (in June!!!!) that might possibly become the stuff of ledgends!
Most of our 'touring'was done from the car, when it was just the four of us. We did Bunratty Castle and Folk Park with just my father-in-law, in '99, used a wheelchair that the park provided, to cut down on the walking.
I wonder if some sort of scooter type device might be available in Ireland, as a rental? You would probably need to rent a minivan to haul it, but that might not be a bad idea with your group's demographics. It is quite a bit more expensive than a car, and a bit more cumbersome to manuever, but the hight and window arraingement makes rear seat viewing MUCH better and it tends to be easier for older people to enter and exit.
Perhaps a check with Ireland's Tourist Board, by email or phone might let you know about the scooter question. That would definitely open up quite a few (though certainly not all) spots.
Depending upon the time of year, some of the sites will allow accommodations for parking, etc. that might make some of the sites (Rock of Cashel comes to mind) that they would be hard pressed to allow during the busier seasons.

chip,

I just topped an older thread for folks who are visiting Ireland in a wheelchair. I had recently topped the same thread because I posted a link for a list of accommodations for people who need some help to those who are completely wheelchair bound. I hope that the link helps you find at least a B&B or two that will work for your situation.

Safe travels,

Wendy