Sinead was born in Leiden, Holland on the 25th August, 1984. Born three months prematurely and weighing only 2 pounds, doctors gave her a fifty-fifty chance of survival. When Sinead was nine months she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy quadraplegia.

Sinead commenced her schooling in Holland. At the age of five, her family moved to England where Sinead attended a special school. Eventually, after four years she was transferred to the mainstream school at the age of nine. This was the turning point in her ‘academic’ education and from sheer effort and determination on her part; she eventually caught up with her peers.

At the age of thirteen she developed Scoliosis. Sinead had to have an iron cage fitted together with rods to straighten her spine and spent months in hospital. Despite two major operations she recovered and went back to school where she caught up with her studies in about three months. When she was fourteen years old she returned to Ireland.

She achieved excellent results in her Leaving Certificate and she was accepted for a Degree in Legal Studies, Sociology and Politics at the NUIG Galway. She is currently sitting her second year examinations. Sinead’s ambition is to become a lawyer and to change the attitude of both people with disabilities and society at large in a forceful but low key way.

Sinead is an inspiration to other students as she is leaving “tyre tracks” paving the way for the future. According to Mary Keyes, Lecturer and Associate Dean for Student Affairs, NUIG Galway. “Sinead’s proactive approach to finding ways of eliminating the barriers to full participation for people with disabilities in University life and society in general is all the more valuable as it reflects her own personal experience. This has highlighted new issues regarding access for people with disabilities and has resulted in the formulation of policies within the University which will ensure greater inclusion”.