MS mum’s delight at new car from Toyota
Seamus Enright
"I’m just so happy, you don’t know what this means for me," a delighted Eilís McSeain told The Anglo-Celt moments after management at Erne Motors on the Dublin Road handed her over keys to a brand new specially modified Toyota Verso-S, generously loaned to her until she gets her affairs back in order.
As first reported in The Anglo-Celt almost two weeks ago, mother-of-one and Multiple Sclerosis sufferer Eilís had her car stolen from outside the playground in Killeshandra where she had stopped to play with her three-year-old son, Darragh.
Eilís, who has mobility issues due to her MS condition, was with her son and watched helplessly as two unidentified women entered her blue Toyota Yaris (registration number 12 CN 899) and drove off.
At the time of going to print yesterday (Tuesday), Gardaí said that they had arrested a 26-year-old woman yesterday morning in the North Circular Road area of Dublin city. In custody in Ballyconnell, while gardaí consider what charges are to be brought, if any, the suspect could appear before a court later today (Wednesday) or later this week
Meanwhile, unable to do the simple things like go to the shops for milk or visit family members, Eilís has felt her independence slip away since her car was stolen.
But her plight has not gone unnoticed, prompting her local dealership, Erne Motors, with the assistance of Toyota Ireland, to come to her aid by loaning her a new car.
Assistant manager Darragh Fitzpatrick told the Celt, "I heard about it about a week after it happened, she rang and told me and at that stage I offered her the loan of a car. But with her condition, she needs one that is specially adapted and we’ve been working on putting something in place for her".
Tom Maguire, sales manager added: "She has insurance and all that sort of stuff to deal with. This is one thing she won’t have to worry about. She’s had a tough time of it between one thing and another. It’s very hard on her and her family what happened so she deserves some sort of help."
Sitting in her new Toyota Verso-S, equipped especially for mobility market with a range of extras including swivel seat, wheel chair boot hoist, state-of-the-art hand controls and steering aids, Eilís’ first thoughts turn back to her son Darragh and all she will be able to do with him again with a mode of transport back in their lives. "He misses the independence we had from being able to get up and go to the shops, have a drive around, go to the playground or whatever.
"He’s going to be delighted I have a car. I can bring him to swimming lessons again. Since the car was gone the past two weeks I haven’t been able to bring him, I’ve been stuck in the house and someone else had to bring him."
Eilís also added she could not thank the management and staff of Erne Motors enough.
"Darragh and everyone have been so lovely to me, it’s just amazing what they’ve done."