Expanding Horizons IE

Expanding Horizons IE Disabled-led - Real talks. 💬 Disabled-led.

Real talks.
🌍 Inclusion starts with us.
📍 Mayo | 📅 July 24th, 2026
🔗 Join our journey below 👇
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03/06/2026

One of the unexpected gifts that disability advocacy has brought into my life is friendship.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of meeting some incredible people who share the same belief that disabled people should be seen, heard and valued. James Cawley is one of those people.

What started through advocacy became friendship. We’ve shared ideas, frustrations, plenty of laughs, and more than a few conversations about the changes we still need to see.

That’s why I was genuinely touched when James took the time to send this message of support for Expanding Horizons. His message gets right to the heart of why this event exists. Disabled people are the experts in our own lives. When our voices are missing from the conversation, everyone loses. When our expertise is valued, communities, services and policies become stronger.

Expanding Horizons was built on that belief. Not as a charity event. Not as an awareness exercise. But as a platform where disabled people can share our knowledge, challenge perceptions and help shape a more inclusive society.

A huge thank you to James for his friendship, his support and for always using his voice to push for meaningful change. Take a moment to listen to what he has to say.

And if you’d like to join us on 24th July in Great National Hotel Ballina , our Early Bird tickets are still available, but not for much longer. There are just 3 days left before the offer ends.

I’d love to see you there. Don’t miss out on the Tickets www.expandinghorizons.ie

We’ll all know today is the 1st of June, and Pride Month begins. 🏳️‍🌈 We stand side by side with our LGBTQI+ community, ...
01/06/2026

We’ll all know today is the 1st of June, and Pride Month begins. 🏳️‍🌈

We stand side by side with our LGBTQI+ community, in celebration and in solidarity. But this goes beyond one month. Human rights don’t stop when June ends, just as our work for inclusion never stops either.

July brings Disability Pride Month, and we are marking it properly.

On Friday the 24th of July, Expanding Horizons returns with our annual grassroots, disability-led event, joined by Cuímsiú. We have three brilliant guests lined up. Amanda McGuiness of Flourish Autism Consultancy & Training, Fionn Crombie Angus of Fionnathan Productions, and Pat Carty of the Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland. And AvrilGreham will be your MC for the night!

Expect personal storytelling, honest panel conversations, and a real sense of community coming together.

📍 Great National Hotel Ballina
🕖 7pm to 9pm
🎟️ Early bird tickets are nearly gone. Just 5 days left!

Grab yours at www.expandinghorizons.ie

So recently I shared a story from when I was seven years old.Sometimes at lunchtime, my friends would run off to the woo...
24/05/2026

So recently I shared a story from when I was seven years old.

Sometimes at lunchtime, my friends would run off to the wooded area at school. It was the place to be. Adventure. Mischief. Childhood memories being made. But I couldn’t go with them. My friends tried to include me. They really did. But the space itself shut me out. No paths. No access. No thought given to someone like me. Like so many disabled children do, I internalised that exclusion. I thought I was the problem. That I was the burden. That I just wasn’t able enough. It took me years to understand the truth, to unlearn my own ableism.

My impairment was never the barrier. Society was.

That understanding is exactly why Expanding Horizons exists. I created this event back in 2024 where lived experience matters. Where difficult conversations can happen honestly. Where we stop trying to “fix” disabled people and start looking at the systems, attitudes and barriers around us instead.

This year’s event is shaping up to be something really special and I honestly cannot wait for these conversations.

Joining us this year are:
Amanda McGuinness of Littlepuddins.ie
Fionn Crombie Angus of Fionnathan Productions
Pat Carty of Disabled Drivers Association

Three people bringing very different lived experiences, perspectives and stories to the room.

Early bird tickets are now officially on sale and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

👉 https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/expanding-horizons-2026-tickets-1986107033602

24th July Great National Hotel, Ballina

Because inclusion means everyone.

Brains, banter and a bit of craic — who’s in?Join us in The Loft for a Quiz Night with purpose.Every table booked helps ...
29/04/2026

Brains, banter and a bit of craic — who’s in?

Join us in The Loft for a Quiz Night with purpose.
Every table booked helps power a disabled-led event that puts real voices and real stories centre stage.

📅 May 15th | 🕗 8pm
👥 Team of 4 | €40

Grab your team and let’s make a night of it.

Western People The Connaught Telegraph Aine Ni Shurdáine Ballina Family Resource Centre Ballina.ie & Ballina Chamber of Commerce

27/04/2026

Two awards, one night… and a hotel that actually gets it.

Quick flying visit to Dublin with the crew from and what a trip it turned out to be.

Stayed in the right in the middle of everything. Cool spot, great energy, and a team that made it feel easy from the start. Accessible room, thoughtful touches, and for the first time ever… an evac chair sitting out in the corridor. That matters more than people realise.

Then onto the main event.

The Autism Friendly Awards… and we didn’t just show up.

We brought home:
• Community Engagement Award
• Full Autism Friendly Town Accreditation

First in the West. Go on.

A proper night with great people, good buzz, and plenty of laughs (and yes… more accessible bathrooms than I expected on a night out).

I’m seriously proud of what are building.
This is what happens when lived experience is actually listened to.

That’s where real inclusion starts.

When I was seven, my friends would run off to the wooded area at school. It was a huge part of playtime, full of adventu...
07/04/2026

When I was seven, my friends would run off to the wooded area at school. It was a huge part of playtime, full of adventure for everyone else. But it wasn't accessible for me. My friends tried to include me, they really did, but the space itself just shut me out.

I felt like I was the problem, a burden even. I thought I just wasn't able, not enough. It took me years to unlearn that false belief. My impairment doesn't disable me, society does. That's the real barrier.

This understanding is what drives Expanding Horizons. We create spaces where real stories like mine are heard. It shifts the conversation from fixing the person to fixing the system.

Because disabled people are experts in their own lives. When that expertise is truly valued, real change begins.

How has an inaccessible environment made you feel excluded?

Drop in the comments what made you feel excluded?

29/03/2026

What would it look like if disabled people were at the centre, not the sidelines?

That question had been sitting with me for a long time.

Because too often, decisions are made about disabled people without us in the room.
Plans are created without our input.
Spaces are built without thinking about who gets left out.

That’s the gap Expanding Horizons was built to challenge.

Not as another project.
Not as a tick-box exercise.
But as something real.

A space led by disabled people.
Where lived experience isn’t an afterthought, it’s the starting point.
Where conversations are honest, and sometimes uncomfortable, but always needed.

Today, we’ve taken that one step further.

The launch of our brand new website.

A place to share what we’re building.
A place to connect.
A place to make sure disabled voices are seen, heard, and valued.

Because inclusion doesn’t happen by accident.
It happens when we show up and create it.

👉 Take a look: www.expandinghorizons.ie

And if you’ve ever felt pushed to the sidelines…
this is your way back to the centre.



Video Description:
A short screen recording showing the Expanding Horizons website being opened and scrolled through. The homepage features clean, modern design with strong headings about disabled-led voices and inclusion. Sections highlight the purpose of Expanding Horizons, upcoming events, and ways to get involved. The video moves steadily through different parts of the site, giving an overview of the layout, colours, and key information.

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