Funeral of city’s disability advocate

THE funeral took place in Limerick yesterday of the women who pioneered the development of services for children with disabilities in the mid-west in founding St Gabriel’s centre.

Wyn Crabtree’s lifelong campaign resulted in the opening of a modernised St Gabriel’s School & Centre in Dooradoyle in 1997.

Born in Yorkshire in 1915, she came to Limerick in 1934 with her parents when her father took up the position of general manager with the Limerick Clothing Company.

Maire O’Leary, chief executive of St Gabriel’s said: “Her first concern always was for the children and she could be heard many times saying ‘It is all about the children’, and her commitment to ensure that they would ultimately have a purpose built school.”

Her ceaseless campaigning eventually paid off and led in 1978 to St Gabriel’s School being recognised by the Department of Education.

She also developed a range of therapy services for children in the school and for the ever growing number of children who were attending as outpatients.

This recognition led to the opening of a new purpose-built facility in Dooradoyle in April 1997.

Ms O’Leary said: “This departure to a purpose built location marked a revolution in the treatment of children with physical disabilities. It contributed to St Gabriel’s being widely acknowledged as a centre of excellence in the provision of educational and therapeutic services for up to 40 children who attend the school daily.”

Never self-promoting or one to seek publicity for her own sake, Wyn had a very active role in the management of the school until her retirement in 1999 at the grand young age of 84. Her work ethic, that had been the hallmark of her lifetime, carried her through and she continued to contribute as a member of the executive committee of St Gabriel’s School & Centre right up until her death last week.

Wyn received the Limerick hall of fame award in 2005 and was nominated Limerick person of the month in November 2008.