Noeleen “shocked and delighted” at Offaly Carer of the Year award

When Noeleen Murphy received a phonecall telling her that she had been chosen as Offaly Carer of the Year she was both “shocked and delighted” but admitted that she is “just one of hundreds” of people across Offaly who are equally deserving of such an award.

The soft-spoken Rhode native cares for her only son, 22-year old Ryan, who is severely autistic, non-verbal and has a number of behavioural challenges.

She was nominated for the award by both her husband, Niall, and her sister, Imelda Braiser, who works as a clinical nurse manage at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

"In the case of my sister, I think it was payback time because I nominated her for an award some time ago and she won two nights in Cork so she said if anything ever came up again that she could nominate me for then she would go ahead and do it,” laughs Noeleen.

As well as being the mother and full-time carer to her only son, Noeleen Murphy and her husband, Niall, also have two daughters, Ciara (19) and Jennifer (18). She is loud in her praise of the help that she gets from her entire family in looking after Ryan and says they are all “very supportive.”

Originally a member of the Byrne family from Rhode village, Noeleen said the State supports for Ryan have “improved a lot” since he was first diagnosed, but she says she still “comes up against brick walls” when trying to access supports. This has prompted her to get involved in the setting up of a support group for other parents of autistic children in the Rhode/Edenderry area to let them know what services are available and how they can be accessed.

“One of the biggest problems parents face initially is in actually getting a diagnosis for their child, and then they have to battle to get the services and supports that should be available, and very often parents aren’t even aware of what sort of assistance they are entitled to, so I would be hoping to be able to give other parents the benefit of the knowledge I have acquired, and the obstacles I have come up against in looking after Ryan,” she says.

When Ryan Murphy was first diagnosed, his parents had to bring him to a playschool for autistic children in Athboy in Meath, as there were no services available locally. “That was a huge challenge because I don’t drive and my husband was working, so his late uncle used to drive us to Athboy and another friend used to collect us,” recalls Noeleen.

Eventually, a group of parents got together to advocate for services, and this resulted in the opening of the Saplings school in Mullingar in 2006, which is aimed specifically at children with autism and extra sensory needs. Noeleen Murphy enrolled Ryan in the school and he attended there until 2019.

“After Saplings he was at home for nine months because we couldn’t find any day service to take him, but eventually we found Galro in Mullingar and he has been attending there four days a week ever since and it has been great for him,” his mother says.

Today, Ryan Murphy is 6ft 3inches in height and his mother has to perform all his basic needs such as bathing, dressing, feeding and changing and she also acts as a speech therapist and OT as he requires extra sensory feedback.

She admits that, while it is “a challenging job” she is very happy to be able to do it. “There are thousands more carers out there doing the very same job that I do,” she says, “but it is lovely to get some recognition for the job we do so I am delighted with my award.”

In his nomination of his wife for the Carer of the Year Award, Niall Murphy, described their son, Ryan, as “an amazing young man with two beautiful sisters and a wonderful mother to support the whole family.”

Now in their 15th year, the Netwatch Family Carer of the Year Awards seek to recognise and shine a light on the remarkable contribution of the more than half a million people in Ireland who provide care at home to loved ones such as children or adults with additional needs, physical or intellectual disabilities, frail older people, those with palliative care needs or those living with chronic illnesses, mental health challenges or addiction.

The Family Carers Ireland estimates the 19 million hours of unpaid care provided each week by family carers would cost the State €20bn a year to replace. Family carers often go unnoticed in the community despite the immense workload they take on and the significant commitment they show to those that they care for. This has particularly been the case during the pandemic with many left increasingly isolated.