Have a cuppa with us

The Cork Independent will host its annual coffee morning on Thursday 11 October with proceeds going to the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

The coffee morning will take place in the iconic Farmgate Café in the English Market, while also marking World Sight Day.  

"We’re delighted to host our annual coffee morning in support of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind this year, and on World Sight Day,” said Cork Independent Editor, Deirdre O’Shaughnessy.

“It’s a huge cause and one that the people of Cork are always willing to get behind so I’d encourage all our loyal readers and clients to please come along on the day and meet the team.

“The Farmgate have very kindly agreed to host the event in their wonderful space in the English Market, and it’s great to be so much at the heart of Cork  for an event like this which is for everyone. They’ve been very generous and hopefully together we will raise plenty of money to help train more guide dog puppies like Tracey to assist people who are visually impaired.”

The Irish Guide Dogs offer a comprehensive set of services for blind or visually impaired persons including the guide dog programme, orientation and mobility (long cane) programme, the independent living skills and a programme that prepares young adults for the transition to college or the workplace.

“We are delighted to have teamed up with the Cork Independent and the Farmgate Cafe to celebrate World Sight Day,” said Kerry MacMahon, Community Fundraising Officer with Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

“We hope to raise awareness about our services and sight loss. For instance, did you know persons do not have to have total sight loss to have to avail of our services? In fact only five per cent of persons registered blind have total sight loss, the rest have some remaining vision. Many persons who use a long cane or a guide dog are not blind but have a sight impairment.”

“Many persons acquire a sight impairment later on in life. Age is not a barrier when considering our services. Numerous people have successfully trained with a guide dog in their 70s and 80s and the minimum age requirement for our services is 16.”

Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind urge anyone affected by sight loss to contact them and discuss their options through their website guidedogs.ie.