Every young person is looking for freedom, but some have to fight harder than others … In 1960s Ireland there was a special place for disabled children: behind the walls of an institution, cut off from the rest of society. At just nine years old, Martin Naughton was one of these children. Along with his younger sister Barbara he was sent to a Dublin institution, far away from his Irish-speaking home in Spiddal. But Martin wouldn’t be sidelined. With the help of some unexpected characters – and an unlikely encounter with his Celtic Football heroes – he began to change the way a generation of young disabled people saw themselves. This is the story of a boy who not only won his own independence, but also led the fight for freedom for all disabled people. ‘Martin was a formidable and tireless campaigner for the right of people with disabilities to live in their own communities and homes.’ President Michael D. Higgins ‘Martin Naughton was a protector, a leader, a gamechanger. In reading this narration of his life, tears filled my eyes.’ Dr Rosaleen McDonagh, playwright, rights activist and author of Unsettled.
In 1960s Ireland there was a special place for disabled children: behind the walls of an institution, cut off from the rest of society. Martin Naughton was one of those children, but he refused to be sidelined. With the help of some unexpected characters, he began to change the way a generation of young disabled people saw themselves.
