No barriers to become a member of a sub-aqua diving club, as a wheelchair user proves.
Twenty-eight-year-old Gerry O'Shea who lost the use of his legs sixteen years ago in a car accident is Ireland’s first sub-aqua club member who is a wheelchair user. Passing the entrance tests hands down, he now dives regularly with the Curragh Sub Acqua Club.
I showed that I was capable, and from there I went from strength to strength.
Chairman of the club John O’Connor says once Gerry O’Shea’s application was approved by the Irish Underwater Council Technical and Medical Commission they were delighted to welcome him on board.
He's very much at home in the water. He's a very strong swimmer.
Gerry O'Shea spends as much time as he can in the swimming pool or diving with the club in Dublin Bay. The extra buoyancy under the sea gives him freedom he cannot experience on land.
I am not held back by the effects of gravity in any way, so it's a lot more fun.
Also a member of the club’s committee, he appreciates the social aspect of sub-aqua diving, both above and below the waves. Having a disability should not hold you back,
Recognise your own horizons and make them broad ones.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 24 September 1985. The reporter is Alasdair Jackson.
