I HAVE BEEN writing about, marching for and speaking out on disability rights for almost a decade now. But I haven’t always taken pride in my disability.
That changed on 26 July 2016 when a man broke into a care facility for people with disabilities in Sagamihara, Japan and proceeded to stab 19 residents to death and injure 26 others. The attacker drove to a local police station, turned himself in, and stated that he wished for all disabled people to “disappear”.
I remember waking up and checking my phone the morning this news broke; I felt coldness spread throughout my body. Of course, I knew people harboured prejudice, even dislike for disabled people, but the attack in Japan was something I just couldn’t comprehend.
At that time, in 2016, I was 19, and I was still uncomfortable with my identity as a disabled person. Six years earlier, I was diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia — a rare neuromuscular condition that progressively weakens my muscles and causes damage to the nervous system.
Being a teenager and juggling the trials and tribulations of school, friends and a changing body is hard enough without a life-altering diagnosis. I didn’t want to accept what being disabled would mean for me and my place in the world.
How could I exist as a disabled person in a world where people hold such contempt for people like me?
The attack in Japan came at a time when I was slowly coming to the realisation that my negative attitude and unwillingness to accept my own disability was part of the bigger problem. But I didn’t know who to turn to with this struggle.
Feeling isolated but needing support, I turned to online forums for answers. I was beyond thrilled to discover a network of people who welcomed me with open arms and listening ears; the disability community.
I learned that what I was feeling was called ‘internalised ableism’ and it was a very common thing to feel in a world with innumerable barriers that exclude people with disabilities from leading full, independent lives.
That was the first thing in a never-ending list of things that the disability community taught me. I learned how to embrace my identity and how to take pride in what my community has fought for.
There is another reason why that date in July is a significant one in the disability community. On 26 July 1990, US President George H. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. The ADA was a first-of-its-kind legislation that enshrined the rights of disabled Americans and sought to end segregation and discrimination.
After the ADA was ratified, disabled people celebrated across the nation. The joyous occasion has evolved into a month-long celebration in July, which has become known as Disability Pride Month throughout the world. Many cities host events and parades to celebrate disability and promote inclusivity.
Inspired by the parades in other countries, disability activist Maryam Madani set up Disability Pride Ireland in 2022 with the central aim of hosting Ireland’s first celebration to recognise Disability Pride Month.
Madani succeeded and hosted Ireland’s first Disability Pride and Power Parade in July 2023. Madani said that celebrating Disability Pride Month is essential for “progressing inclusion for the disabled community, challenging assumptions about what it means to be disabled, and raising awareness of our rights and what needs to change.”
“The idea of disabled people having anything to be proud of about our identity, culture and bodies is still a radical concept.” said Madani, speaking about the ableism that is still prevalent in Irish society: “The fact that Disability Pride Month is hardly understood or discussed is a symptom of our extreme marginalisation and how far behind we are in achieving our rights and cultural inclusion even compared to other social movements.”
Ireland’s second Disability Pride and Power Parade will take place on 27 July, 2024. Across the world, the disability rights movement has experienced huge success in the past few decades. More representation in the public realm, stronger legislation and increased awareness about disability have helped but there is still a very long way to go until all societal barriers are dismantled and disabled people are valued and equal.
“As people with impairments, we are enveloped in a shell of shame”, said Dr Rosaleen McDonagh, a disability activist and author. McDonagh explains how the situation is then made worse by a “blanket of systematic endemic ableism”, which can only be improved with solidarity and cooperation. “As the blanket slips and falls away. We find ourselves and each other. Pride is about intention, ambition and self-worth.”
McDonagh is one of the members of the Irish disability community who taught me that my identity as a disabled woman is nothing to shy away from.
Living as a disabled person in Ireland is not easy; low employment rates, a housing crisis, limited financial support, the list goes on. Sometimes I feel like the government has willfully forgotten about disabled people — deciding to carry on with their head in the sand.
Notably, 1,109,557 people in Ireland reported experiencing disability to any extent in Census 2022 – a whopping 22% of the total population. With a significant portion of the Irish population identifying as disabled, the need for inclusivity and equal rights is obvious.
“For me, Disability Pride is a recognition that disability is fundamental to our life cycle as humans”, Sinéad Burke, CEO of accessibility and inclusion consultancy, Tilting the Lens, another disabled woman I hold in esteem told me. “It’s a state of being that many of us move in and out of — something that makes us who we are, and in turn, that must energise us as we think about the building blocks of the future.”
Fostering an informed, inclusive and supportive society that values and celebrates disability will require constant and arduous work from everyone. With advocates like McDonagh, Burke and Madani, disability pride has a fighting chance in Ireland.
Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird is a disability advocate, activist and freelance journalist. You can follow her on X at @niamhnih.
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