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Gary Ferry, 15 Jun
Clubs throughout the League of Ireland should follow the example of
Derry City in ensuring an atmosphere of joy, excitement and inclusion
for everyone on match days.
That is the opinion of the clubâs Supporter Liaison Officer Karen Pyne,
who recently headed the introduction of Derry Cityâs new Diversity &
Inclusion Plan in collaboration with recently developed group Friends
of Ardnashee.
It led to a very special night at the Brandywell recently for Ardnashee
pupils Zara Hamill and Logan Doherty, who got to walk out as mascots
alongside Derry City footballers for the game against Bohemians.
Entitled âDifferent Togetherâ, the club is eager to ensure that all
fans feel welcome and supported regardless of diversity.
Captain for the game, Cameron McJannet wore ear defenders as he walked
onto the pitch alongside both pupils, a moment which symbolised both
understanding and connection between the club and the school, with all
parties aiming to raise awareness of neurodiversity in their local
communities.
âIt was very special,â Karen said. Logan and Zara are two wee dolls. I
had a wee chat with them beforehand just to explain to them what was
happening. I think Logan had been a few times before with his granda,
but I donât think Zara had been at all. It didnât faze them one bit;
they absolutely loved it; they loved the crowd and they loved the whole
experience of it all.
âThe parents as well were so, so proud of their kids. It was absolutely
brilliant and they were great ambassadors, not just for the school but
also the club.â
Karen now hopes that the rest of the League of Ireland will follow in
Derry Cityâs footsteps.
âI would say the club are definitely taking the lead on it,â she
continued. âWeâre the first club in Ireland to do it and I think itâs a
massive thing. Other clubs should follow suit now and make this a big
thing across the league. It should be the new normal and weâre going to
try to make it the new normal.
âArdnashee had done a collection at a game the week before and we had
five mascots from them. A youngster had also been wearing ear
defenders. I had also seen children wearing ear defenders in the
Brandywell before so I thought we could make something of this. I
thought we could be an inclusive club and show that and show that we
support neurodiversity. I approached Ardnashee and they were delighted
to come on board with us and it evolved from there. It was all done
within a week; the mascots were sorted and we drafted the diversity and
inclusion policy to be taken to the board for approval.â
âConfidence and beliefâ
The project could not have come at a more opportune time for Friends of
Ardnashee, a recently formed group keen to create memories, experiences
and inclusion for their kids right across society.
Building relationships with individual and groups across the city and
beyond is key for the development of the children in the present and in
years to come.
Chairperson of Friends of Ardnashee, and teaching assistant Aine
Harnett has been delighted to discover that people everywhere are
willing to help.
âWhat we have found is that generally people just donât know what they
donât know and once they hear what our message is, they are so
welcoming,â she explained.
âWhen weâre inviting people to get to know our children and get to know
the traits of their disabilities, the first questions they always ask
are âWhat can we do?â and âHow can we help?â and âWhat changes can we
make?â
âDifferent Togetherâ with Derry City, has an inclusion policy and
thatâs going to mean long-lasting change. It doesnât cost anything, but
what it will mean is that itâs out there now, and for parents of a
child with additional needs, such as myself, I would think this is
something my son can experience because I know now that Derry has
consideration and knowledge and awareness of children with disabilities
and how to accommodate them.â
Last Friday at the Brandywell was a night that Zara, Logan and Aine
herself will never forget, even if she found herself more nervous that
the children.
âIt was lovely,â she acknowledged. âI think our pupils are anxious
about attending events in the community, sometimes due to the nature of
their disability of their sensory challenges so itâs really good for
them to see the children that they know and have friendships with doing
this because this will then give them the confidence and belief that
they can do it as well and it could be them some day.
âI was supporting them in the tunnel as well, but they didnât need it.
I found it nerve-wrecking to walk out, but it didnât faze them two.
Usually that type of experience wouldnât be something that our children
have much practise in. For some it was their first experience and it
was a big first step for Zara to do that. She was more than ready.
âShe was a wee bit nervous until she knew that Cameron McJannet was
going to be wearing ear defenders as well, but we made her a wee visual
story to tell her and thatâs why itâs so lovely; you can see Zara
looking up at Cameron in one of the photos and sheâs holding her ear
defenders and sheâs looking at him and heâs wearing his. The look on
her face is âYouâre wearing what Iâm wearingâ. I think that was
beautiful.â
Aine now has her work cut out for her planning future trips to the
Brandywell, with Logan and Zaraâs experiences making them celebrities
in their own right.
âThey are all dying to go,â she laughed. âI was speaking to Karen and
we are going to try to have spaces for the mascots and just let the
children know when itâs coming up to their turn and let them experience
that as well. Logan is a celebrity now, and so is Zara. They have been
telling them all their stories, and the children, rather than being
nervous about it, they are getting their names on the list. They have
me tortured fining out when their matches are.
âI think itâs a big statement from Derry City. Their commitment to
inclusion and to form that collaboration with us, a newly set up
charity, the amount of knowledge that they stand to gain from that, and
from us the amount of awareness given their following that we can get
out there; itâs a great partnership and the real winners there are the
children.â
Outreach programmes
Friends of Ardnashee are keen to continue working with outreach
programmes throughout the community and has called on anyone interested
to please get in touch as every experience can be so important for the
kids.
âFultonâs Pumpkin Patch have been fab with us,â she explained. âLast
year we bought pumpkins so the children could experience a pumpkin
patch on site. Fultonâs actually came down this year and they created
for us our own pumpkin patch by planting seeds. The Fire Brigade, Green
Watch on the Northland Road have been coming down to water the
pumpkins.
âThe children are all going down to see them and three of them have
said to me âIâm going to be a fire personâ, which is amazing. They are
coming on site and the children are seeing what they do, seeing the
realities of the job and they are asking what they need to do to become
a fire person. Itâs just so lovely.
âWhat itâs showing the children is that these day-to-day jobs that
people have, these are their hopes and dreams for the future. These
people are so welcoming and showing our children that there is life
after school and that thereâs a community there who will be there for
them.â
âWe are so keen to work with people on outreach projects. We would like
to invite you in, get to know the children, have them ask questions to
get to know you, and then continue that relationship then out in the
community whenever itâs the right time to do that.
âDerry City Football Club have been down a few times and that led to
this so itâs a nice, natural course for the children then to go out
into the community, so anyone who would like to get in touch, please
do.â
For more information or to get involved with Friends of Ardnashee,
please contact friendsofasc@hotmail.com