{"id":659252,"date":"2026-10-19T10:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/659252\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T10:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T10:56:08","slug":"recalling-cork-polio-outbreak-70-years-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/659252\/","title":{"rendered":"Recalling Cork polio outbreak 70 years on"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"contextmenu internal_BodyInitial\">Polio Survivors Ireland is hosting a special event tomorrow, Tuesday, October 20, to mark 70 years since the devastating 1956 outbreak in Cork.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The event will bring together polio survivors, families, and local representatives to reflect on the outbreak and the lasting impact it has had on people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The event also comes amid renewed calls from Polio Survivors Ireland for greater recognition of the needs of older people living with the long-term effects of polio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Budget 2027 introduced a \u20ac500 Cost of Disability Payment for an estimated 240,000 people in receipt of qualifying long-term disability payments. However, 89% of Polio Survivors Ireland\u2019s members are aged over 65 and many will miss out on this support, despite continuing to face additional costs associated with their disability.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The organisation is calling on Government to ensure older people living with the life-long effects of polio are not excluded from essential disability-related supports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The Polio Survivors Ireland 70th anniversary event takes place at Cork International Hotel, and will feature personal accounts from those affected by polio alongside reflections from families and community representatives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Joan McDonnell, who was born in Limerick in 1951 and contracted polio as a child, continues to live with the long-term effects of the illness. Her husband, Vincent McDonnell, an established author of historical books with strong Cork connections, will be among the speakers at the event, sharing the history of the epidemic and paying tribute to those who continue to live with its effects, including Joan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Cork Lord Mayor Damian Boylan and former Senator John Dolan will also be among the speakers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The polio outbreak of 1956 had a profound impact on Cork, with 220 cases recorded across city and county and five deaths. Most of those affected were children, with 71 of the 90 cases recorded in Cork city by the beginning of August, 1956, involving children under six.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The fear surrounding the outbreak also had a significant impact on everyday life across Cork, with a poliomyelitis centre established at St Finbarr\u2019s Hospital, the Victoria Cross open-air swimming pool closed and people warned against swimming in the River Lee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Sporting events were cancelled or postponed, while children under 12 were banned from attending the cinema and shops and entertainment venues saw footfall decrease as people avoided crowds and travel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\n            Cork also reached the All-Ireland hurling and football finals in 1956, but both games were postponed by the Central Council of the GAA following a request from public health officials in Dublin, who were concerned about large numbers of Cork people travelling to Croke Park.\n        <\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">The event in Cork will be facilitated by Nicola Fogarty, CEO of Polio Survivors Ireland, and falls ahead of World Polio Day on October 24, which is marked annually to raise awareness of polio and its ongoing impact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">For the many people who contracted polio decades ago, the effects of the virus continue today through post-polio syndrome, which can include sleep impairment, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, severe intolerance to cold, speech difficulties, difficulty swallowing and respiratory problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">In relation to supports for polio survivors, the group is calling for:<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">A universal, non-taxable Cost of Disability Support Payment of at least \u20ac55 per week, including for people over 65<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Government to address the financial gap at age 66, when people move from Disability Allowance to the State Pension and can lose access to disability-related supports, despite continuing to face significant additional costs<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">An enhanced Fuel Allowance covering 42 weeks rather than the current 32 weeks, specifically for polio survivors experiencing cold intolerance, reflecting what the organisation says are their ongoing and medically necessary energy needs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">Nicola Fogarty said: \u201cSeventy years on from the Cork outbreak, many survivors continue to live with increasing mobility difficulties, pain and fatigue, while facing significant costs associated with physiotherapy, medicines, mobility aids, home adaptations and specialist equipment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\n            \u201cPolio survivors over 65 have missed out on disability-related supports in previous Budgets, and we have unfortunately seen Budget 2027 has unfortunately seen this gap continue.\n        <\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">\u201cWe are calling on Government to recognise that disability-related costs do not stop at pension age and to ensure that older people living with the long-term effects of polio are not left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu Body Body\">To find out more about Polio Survivors Ireland, visit: www.polio.ie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Polio Survivors Ireland is hosting a special event tomorrow, Tuesday, October 20, to mark 70 years since 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