Community does it for Declan

Gabija Gataveckaite

OVER €125,000 has been raised for a Southside family who were hit with a “catastrophic” blow last year after a father of two was paralysed.

Declan Naughton (45) suffered a serious injury last June during a charity cycle which left him paralysed for life from the chest down.

His colleagues, friends and members of the community came together to raise money so that the family home can be adapted to accommodate Declan, who is now a wheelchair user.

His wife Louise told Southside People how the family is extremely grateful for the support which they have received from the community. 

“It’s mind-blowing how overwhelming the support has been from people,” she said. 

“We couldn’t have gotten through it without it and we’re extremely grateful.”

She extended special thanks to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire, where Declan was transferred to recently from the Mater Hospital. 

“The care and support that we have received from all at the NRH has been phenomenal,” explained Louise. 

“They have ‘re-built’ Declan and enabled us as a family to establish a new normal. We will be eternally indebted to them and no words are sufficient in expressing our gratitude to them,” she said. 

Before the accident, Declan was a very active member of the community.

He was a regular attendee of the gym, coached football teams and played golf in Palmerstown Golf Club.

“He is also well known in the community for getting involved and being the first to help others out,” said Louise. 

After his accident, Declan spent three months in the Mater Hospital before he was transferred to Dun Laoghaire, where he is currently undergoing intense physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

“Paralysis catastrophically changes a person’s life and one of a million things that needs to be altered is the person’s home,” added Louise.

The target for the ‘Doing This for Declan’ fundraiser, which was initially set up on GoFundMe last November, is €250,000.

The couple met when they worked together in Roches Stores over 12 years ago and have two boys, Cillian, aged 12 and Callum, age 7.

Louise explained that the entire community has been excellent in getting together and raising the much needed funds. 

“We’ve had a massive joined effort from the community, from coffee mornings to football matches,” she said. 

“One little girl donated all of the money she received for her 10th birthday, which was very sweet,” she added.

“There’s been a huge variety of things organised and the power of social media is incredible, it really gets the word out there.”