Galway Bay is widely celebrated as one of the region’s greatest natural resources, a place that belongs to everyone yet remains inaccessible to many. For Moycullen resident Kay Diviney, a member of the Gentle Swimmers group, the bay represents both liberation and limitation. Kay has Multiple Sclerosis and is a wheelchair user, yet each week she makes the journey to the water across from the Galway Bay Hotel, supported by her husband Cathal and fellow swimmers. What awaits her is a powerful form of therapy, but one that is not reliably within her reach.
“The water shocks my body. I go into the water, and it's like being electrocuted,” explained Kay. “When I come out of the water, I can do stuff that I am not able to do before going into the water, like standing up. I can't stand up right now, but I can actually stand up when I come out of the water and do things that I wouldn't be able to do normally. Now, obviously, that doesn't last for that very long, usually until about three or four o'clock in the evening, but it's just fantastic.”
Those hours of relief depend on whether she can get onto the beach at all. Each week, Kay and Cathal must assess sand levels left by the tide to determine whether the beach wheelchair can be lowered safely from the walkway. When the sand is too low, members of the Gentle Swimmers must physically lift Kay and the large, heavy chair to the shore. Whether help is available varies from week to week.
“The council have provided beach wheelchairs, but no access. It's a nightmare, only for I have strong hands that can lift me down when we're going down here, I wouldn't be swimming.”
The inconsistency of access has prompted the Gentle Swimmers to speak publicly about conditions at Galway’s beaches. They argue that reliable infrastructure, not luck or physical strength, should determine whether someone with a disability can reach the sea. Founder of the group, Joe Kennelly, explained why they felt compelled to act.
“The words 'inclusion' and 'accessibility' are regularly bandied about by politicians and public-funded organisations, councils, schools, etc., to name but a few. However, the reality is that this could not be further from the truth, and we see signs of non-inclusivity everywhere. Salthill beachfront is a prime example.
"It is upsetting and disillusioning to think that there are vast numbers of people, wheelchair users, prosthetic bearers, disabled, blind, stroke sufferers, etc, who are deprived of several opportunities, access to the sea being one.”
Kay’s friend and fellow swimmer, Mary Gavaghan, described the experience with clarity and urgency.
“Wheelchair users must be carried down to access the beach, and it's very sad to think that they can't use this natural resource.
“If a Galway Girl can’t access Galway Bay, something is wrong.”
In recent weeks, the group’s efforts have reached political representatives. TDs Mairead Farrell and Noel Grealish were contacted by members of the Gentle Swimmers, and Deputy Grealish met the group at a Saturday swim to address their concerns directly.
“Kay, I think you should be able to access the beach when you want and not have to resort to having to lift you off the ramp down to the beach,” said Deputy Grealish.
“That has got to stop, and that will stop. I am going to give a commitment here and do everything I absolutely can to change that.
“If Galway City Council give me a plan, I will get them the money, that is my job as a national politician. But I guarantee you one thing, I will make sure they draw up a plan for that and we will put a nice ramp there, maybe even one with a little rail on it so that anyone can walk up and down it and those with mobility issues can come in and out of the water safely.”
He promised to return after Christmas with an update, saying he was “not a politician that is going to walk away.”
A representative of Galway City Council, Deirdre Keaney Cunningham, was also present at the swim and confirmed that the council is aware of the issue and will be “looking into it,” though a timeline for the project has not yet been decided.
For Kay, for the Gentle Swimmers, and for the many others who use Galway’s beaches, there is now hope that real progress may finally be within reach. The bay may belong to everyone, but genuine inclusion requires accessible entry for all who wish to experience it.
