Wheelchair user’s video highlights ‘lethal’ Carlow roads

A wheelchair user has made a video highlighting the dangers that he encounters on a daily basis as he tries to navigate around Graiguecullen and Carlow town.

Eoin Harte, who drives an electric wheelchair, was so fed up with broken or inaccessible footpaths, paths blocked by cars or bins, and the dangers of crossing roads with heavy traffic that he took matters into his own hands and made a video to show the world what he has to put up with.

He approached local representatives about the situation last year, but no real improvements were made. He describes crossing roads in Carlow town as “lethal” and is still campaigning for better wheelchair access, as well as more zebra crossings.

Eoin lives in Graiguecullen and attends RehabCare and is out and about in Carlow town on a daily basis.

“Everyone knows Eoin around Carlow town,” said John Kavanagh from Rehab Care. “After he approached the council last year, he felt that he wasn’t being listened to. He’s been finding it very difficult to deal with the traffic. The volume of traffic in Carlow town is very heavy. It’s hard for him to cross the road, plus it’s hard for him to find paths with wheelchair access, which means that he has to drive on the roads.” Eoin told John that he wanted to campaign for better conditions, and they hit upon the idea of making a video. John contacted his brother, Richie Kavanagh Jr, who owns Garryhill Films, and the whole project took off, with Richie filming Eoin travelling from his house in Graiguecullen, over Graiguecullen bridge and into Carlow town.

“The film shows all the obstacles that block the paths, like cars or bins. People don’t do it maliciously; they just don’t think. He doesn’t like going across Graigue bridge because the path is so high,” continued John.

This isn’t the first campaign for better conditions for wheelchair users that Eoin has led. Some years ago, after he was mugged in Carlow town, he fought to get cameras installed there. Now, he’s determined to get improvements made to footpaths, while also calling for more zebra crossings to be installed. Using the slogan #eoinclearthepath, the video has been viewed thousands of times since its release last week.

“Thousands of people have seen the video and it has created a great buzz for him. He’s getting great feedback from people about it. When Eoin gets something into his head, he’ll keep chipping away at it. He’s so determined, he’s brilliant,” said John.

The film can be viewed on YouTube and on Garryhill Films’ Facebook page.