Muscular Dystrophy Ireland fund honours memory of lifelong Longford activist Hubert McCormack

Muscular Dystrophy Ireland (MDI) is supporting members living with neuromuscular conditions to get Assistive Technology to enhance their independence and quality of life.

MDI recently established the Hubert McCormack Assistive Technology Fund which honours the contribution of Legan native, Hubert McCormack, who was a lifelong activist for the rights of disabled people to live independently. He was also an accomplished singer songwriter.

Applicants may be awarded up to a maximum of €500 and the funding will cover part of the cost, or the full cost, of Assistive Technology.

The fund can go towards mobility aids, computer software or hardware – daily living aids for members that will support their independence and improve their quality of life. It will be in the form of a once-off award to a member.

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Son of the late Jim and Rose McCormack, Hubert, from Lisawarriff, Legan, was 58 when he passed to his eternal reward on February 28, 2022 leaving a great legacy with MDI and the disability rights movement in Ireland.

He was loved by colleagues and members alike over the 34 years during which he was a member of staff.

He was never afraid to fight for his rights and the rights of others, having done so since he was a child when he challenged the norms and practices of the institutions where he and many other disabled children were forced to live.

Hubert later led the campaigns that saw the establishment of Independent Living and Personal Assistant Services in Ireland, which transformed his life and the lives of disabled people in Ireland over the last 30 years.

He was immensely proud of the leading role which he and others living with neuromuscular conditions played in both the Independent Living Movement and MDI itself, and actively encouraged and guided new generations of activists to take up the mantle.

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Hubert embodied the heart and soul of MDI and his work, using excellent administrative, writing, and publishing skills, was driven by this pride and his passion for supporting members and their families in any way possible. He was a huge influence on his colleagues as well as on friends and supporters of MDI.

Indeed, for many years, Hubert also organised an annual whist drive in Longford in honour of his late aunt Anne Byrne from Ardagh, to raise funds for MDI.

For more information about the MDI Hubert McCormack Assistive Technology Fund please contact Gillian Reid, respite@mdi.ie.

Also see the Muscular Dystrophy Ireland website www.mdi.ie

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