Conor O'Reilly was a rare individual who succeeded in cramming a rich, fulfilled and happy life into his 21 years. He had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a condition which meant he became increasingly physically reliant on others for his personal needs. He used a powered wheelchair and was very fortunate to have had Denis as his personal assistant for three and a half years at college.
Conor's great gift was that he taught people to look beyond his wheelchair to the person within it. He was passionate about social justice and equality for those who society labels as "disabled", especially concerning equal opportunity in education. Playing a full role in society himself, he attended the local primary school, then Pobalscoil Neasain, Baldoyle where he made friendships which endured. He sat his Leaving Cert, using a personal computer, and achieved outstanding results. He attended Dublin City University and was studying Applied Computational Linguistics and German. He travelled to Germany last year, stayed with a German family and attended Universtat Bielefeld as an Erasmus student for a college term. He lived away from home for the first time, using a rota of ten personal assistants to fulfil his needs. Initially, he found it hard to explain his needs in German, but by the end of his stay it was harder to explain them in English! He spoke German from the minute he arrived till the moment he left. His time at DCU, although cut short by his death before completing his finals, was academically successful and socially liberating.
In keeping with his interest in disability, Conor was a national executive member of Muscular Dystrophy Ireland. He was a great ambassador, making many contacts, friendships and acquaintances on his various missions on behalf of MDI to Holland, Denmark, Barcelona and Vienna. In many senses, he was a young European, as he was also a valued member of a European organisation of young people with muscular dystrophy. Information technology enabled Conor to live an enviable life he was web master for MDI's world wide web page and referred many people affected by similar neuromuscular conditions to information resources on the Internet. He also maintained a personal web page:
http://ireland.iol.ie/coreilly/ where his interest in Formula 1 motor racing, politics and music is plain to see.
A thoughtful and gentle person, Conor was also determined, driven and focused. There are few such empowered people. Fewer still who achieve such strength of character at 21 years of age. He will be greatly missed by his family, parents Seamus and Joan, sisters Dearbhla and Fidelma, brother Killian, his relations, his personal assistant Denis and his many friends at home and abroad.