Football is your passion. You go to every match. You never miss a game. Football is in your blood. Now imagine you lost your sight. What would you do?

The reality is that there are over 54,000 people living with serious visual impairment or blindness across Ireland and this number is growing.

Many of those people affected by sight loss are isolated and alone and have even stopped accessing their favourite pastimes or hobbies.

If you have a passion for football, how can you go to your local game when you can’t see the play or what’s happening?

Good news: NCBI is now working in partnership with Bohemians to enable people with sight loss to support their local team through audio description.

James Flanagan, Recreation and Fitness Coordinator from the Iona Resource Centre, will provide audio description of the matches whilst being seated with blind and vision impaired supporters so that once again they can enjoy the passion of the game.

Flanagan explains: “Everyone should have access to sport, regardless of disability. Bohemians is my local team and I am excited at the prospect of enabling people with sight loss to support their local team. Sport should be accessible for everyone.”

When someone has being diagnosed with a sight impairment, they have already suffered the loss of their sight, nobody should have to lose anything else from their life, and certainly not the enjoyment they get from supporting their local game.

If you – or someone you know – have stopped attending Bohs games due to sight loss, please get in touch. We want you and can support you!

If you are interested in partaking in this scheme please contact daniel@bohemians.ie

See Irish Times article for more or listen to Ray Darcy show segment.