Adrian was very independent, says group

ADRIAN DUNNE had lived with a debilitating eyesight inherited condition since birth but was living a normal and untroubled life, according to a support group for blind people.

Despite his eyesight which seriously deteriorated five years ago, staff with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) were never alerted to anything “unusual” with the 29-year-old.

Other members of the Dunne family, including Adrian’s father, also contracted the same, complex condition.

“For this family, visual impairment is not unusual. They’re used to it, they’re open about it, they live with it,” said NCBI’s director of services Elaine Howley.

She warned against the danger of people thinking the tragedy was due to the debilitating, inherited eye condition. It was also not clear yet whether the two daughters, Leanne and Shania, had the condition.

“He was a very independent man. He had very clear ideas about what he wanted and he didn’t want and when he wanted to avail of services to meet particular needs.

“There were specific things that he looked for from us and then he went off and continued with his independent life, as many people with eye conditions do,” added Ms Howley.

However, despite some NCBI clients experiencing severe difficulties with eyesight conditions, there was no particular concern about Mr Dunne.

“A lot of supports that we would have offered him were practical, to live the independent life he wanted.

“Certainly in our recent conversations with him, they were positive, looking forward to the future, there was no indication that there was anything unusual going on for him. This was as just as much a shock to NCBI as it was to everybody else,” she added.

NCBI staff last spoke to Adrian Dunne three weeks ago, Ms Howley said.

“It was towards looking at the future and making some plans with his family and things they wanted to achieve. He seemed to be coping well.

“This isn’t a guy that was sitting around feeling sorry for himself. In many ways, it seems very out of character. As or when he wanted to avail of our services, we were there for him.

“In this situation, the staff that have worked quite closely with this family would have no reason to believe that there was anything unusual going on, in terms of Adrian adapting to having no sight. He’s had very low vision for a very long time,” added Ms Howley.

According to the NCBI, it has not assessed yet whether his two daughters had the same inherited eye condition.

“He was open to the fact of having them assessed.

“He was ready for it, but he was planning for them going to school and what they would need and where they were heading in the future. Nothing would indicate anything to us.”