Unmask disability, enable a right to expression, and magic can happen

MARGARET McLOUGHLIN was born with three things. Down syndrome; a serious untreatable heart condition; and a huge, infectious, and empathetic personality. She wasn’t expected to live. But live she did, to the fullest extent that was possible.

She had irrepressible energy. One minute she’d be tearing around at full velocity, the next gasping for breath. But nothing could stop her, and the lasting memory of anyone who met her was of someone with the talent to make you want to smile.

Margaret died 10 years ago, after living into her 20s — longer, to be honest, than those who loved her expected. To honour her memory her family set up a fund which sponsored an art and creativity project at the National Institute for Intellectual Disability (NIID) in Trinity College.