THE WINNING TALE

My train trip to Kilkenny by Emma Brady. 10th August 2013.

Mammy told me that the Special Hands Group was going to Kilkenny on a train. I was very excited as I had never been on a train before. It was going to be a great fun day; all my friends from the Special Hands Group would be there. 

Saturday morning came and at 8.30 we all met at Supervalu car park in Navan. We boarded a bus which would bring us to Heuston Station we went to Dublin via the M 50 and we all 50 of us went to Platform 6. All the Mums and Dads were making sure no one got lost, with instructions of don’t get lost, hold your friends hand,. When we stopped at platform 6 we all headed for the toilets. To fix our makeup. Mary Gaynor was the photographers for the day and she took loads of photos of us on the Platform. We were all very giddy waiting for the train oh it was great fun.

Gillian and Christa whom is in a wheelchair they boarded first, Cain helped put Christa in her seat on the train. The Station lady told us when to board and we got on board singing OLE OLE OLE. . The excitement was great, I sat beside my friends, and we all said Let's Get This Party Started. I sat beside my friend Emma Murray and in the other seats around me were Katie, and Sasha, and Louise and Stephen. 

Our mums were in seats near us. We were all chatting, only two of our group were on a train before. We met some people on the train whom were from U.S.A and they spoke American.They were on Holiday in Ireland and they also had a son with special needs..We pulled into Kilkenny Station and started singing OLE OLE OLE again we were wild. Christa and her mom got a taxi into the Hotel. The rest of our group headed down the hill to Kilkenny Town Centre. We were chatting and making sure no one got left behind. We were like a big snake coming down the town. We had a big group 50 people. It was fun then a Bee chased Emma Murray she was not pleased, we chased it away. We headed up the hill to the Ormond Hotel for our Dinner. When we got there was a large wedding party leaving , oh such fun people were coming and going and A gentleman in a suit said are ye from KELLS , we said yes and he said follow me. The hotel was beautiful the lights were all shiny and sparkly our group name was on the board. We had a wonderful lunch but halfway through we noticed that HEATHER AND her Sister Carmel were not here . 

Theresa Text them, and told them where to come to ( he never told them the name of the Hotel) and when they entered we clapped and clapped . Heather and Carmel are our Cooking Tutors their Granny lives in Kilkenny. When dinner was over we went back down the hill and passed an Art Expedition which was being put on by Heathers and Caramels 21 year old cousin called Patrick Irish. 

Our big long line which looked like a snake made its way to Kilkenny Castle, we were all very happy. We went into the castle and put our bags in a room. We then headed for the Luminimarion its like a big bouncy castle with loads of beautiful coloured lights and patterns. It was great fun in there; some of our group did not want to leave. Some of the group went to look inside the castle and they said they saw loads of pictures of strange looking women and men in tights. The boys wanted 
to stay the night in the castle, they thought it would be fun…

We all went off and did and saw different events. Aimee and her Mom and Carol and Adam they saw a Gospel Group singing and said it was fantastic. I went on the train around Kilkenny city with Lynda Mary, Katie, and loads more we sang and had great fun. We even saw Elvis standing outside a house door with a gold suit on. The train driver said we were the best group he had all day for fun and singing. We got our photo taken with him. Some of our group went and had Chocolate Pancakes. We all met back at the grounds of the castle and talked about our great day. We headed back down the Hill IN A big long line, and we said goodbye to the beautiful city of Kilkenny behind we headed up the hill to the train. The man in the ticket office was very nice he organised the ramp for Christa’s wheelchair, and we waved goodbye to Kilkenny singing OLE OLE OLE .
All my friend on the train signed their name on a page I have attached it.This was the best day I had all summer, because I Had my first train ride with all my friends. 

Thank you Inroad Eireann.

This story has been told to Theresa Olohan who hand wrote it word for word from Emma Brady a very bright young lady with an intellectual disability.