Thomas more nervous meeting Kenny than soccer legend Roy Keane

THOMAS WINTERS’ most magic moment was leading out Manchester United at Old Trafford with none other than his hero, Roy Keane, by his side.

That was eight years ago when he was just seven years old but despite his tiny size and the immensity of the occasion, he took it all in his stride.

He admitted he was more nervous in his own living room last night meeting a mere mortal like Enda Kenny. “I’m relieved,” he said when he meeting was over and the cameras stopped clicking. “I don’t have to smile any more.”

In fact, he was smiling more than ever, glad that he’d got a chance to show the Taoiseach that, like any young man, he has hopes and dreams for his future and really doesn’t need the Government to go undermining them.

He sits the Junior Cert next year — 10 subjects which, he regrets, don’t include football. Then it’s the Leaving Cert and, a year later, he hopes, he’ll represent Ireland at the Powersoccer World Cup in the United States.

He’s a striker for his local team, Park Villa, and has a dozen goals to his credit this season. “How do you play soccer in a wheelchair?” the Taoiseach asked with interest.

“Like any normal person but in a wheelchair,” he replied with a grin.

Thomas’s seven older brothers and sisters, his neighbours, friends and community at large in Trim, Co Meath, fundraised recently to provide him with a new lightweight sports wheelchair specially for the game.

His day-to-day chair is a fine machine but not agile enough for the twists and turns of the fast-paced sport. That was news to the Taoiseach, who was on a steep learning curve in the Winters family home last night, but he’ll learn more when he visits Muscular Dystrophy Ireland’s (MDI) new information and support centre in Chapelizod, which he promised last night to officially open in the coming months.

MDI chief executive Joe Mooney couldn’t let the opportunity of a chat with the Taoiseach pass and joined Thomas and his family for the half-hour visit last night.

“We would have 230 members who would be directly affected by the budget changes if they went ahead and we’re just one disability organisation so you can multiply that over and over to get the impact across the country,” he said afterwards.

“I’m glad the Taoiseach came and he did listen so we’ll see what happens. We all know things are very tough economically but someone like Thomas shouldn’t suffer for that.”

Picture: Taoiseach Enda Kenny with Thomas Winters and his parents Ann and Niall at their home in Trim, Co Meath, where he listened to the family’s concerns and discussed Thomas’s hopes to play soccer for Ireland at the Powersoccer World Cup in the United States. Picture: Barry Cronin