'It's given me a sense of belonging': the visually impaired rugby players representing Ireland

Taking up a new sport aged 47 can be a daunting prospect for any woman. Even more so, when all the rival teams are made up only of men.

But for Hilary Devlin, there was an extra challenge. She and the other players on this touch rugby team are all visually impaired.

Five years after the All Ireland Visually Impaired Rugby Team was set up, its coaches say the players have made "extraordinary" progress, and they're ready to represent Ireland at an international tournament in Japan in November.

The team is made up of players from all four provinces, and are the only mixed-gender visually impaired team in the world.

The team is part of Old Wesley RFC, facilitated by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU),and players travel from all over Ireland to train in Donnybrook, Dublin.

Hilary, who lives in south Belfast, is a life-long Leinster Rugby fan, but never believed she would play for any sporting team, let alone represent Ireland.

"At school, playing sport, I was always just told to 'sit over there'.

"So at our first match, I was probably more excited about getting the kit and looking the same as everybody else.

"I was so, so proud of myself."

Hilary works for Vision Ireland, which supports blind and visually impaired people in the Republic of Ireland, but says before joining the team, she didn't have many friends who had the same experiences with vision as her.

"I would definitely say that there were periods in my life when I was lonely, in a way that I didn't connect.

"I felt there was a bit that never clicked.

"Rugby has given me that, and I would love other people to feel that."

"If somebody had told me five years ago that I would be playing rugby, I would be as fit and strong as I am now, and that I was going to Japan to represent Ireland... the hairs stand up on the back of my neck."

For the captain, Sean McDowell from Castlewellan, County Down, the team's success means more than sporting glory, it's a sign of his recovery.

During the pandemic, Sean had a haemorrhagic stroke in which he lost nearly all his vision. He spent time in a coma, and had to learn to walk again.

"At the first session, I was pretty unstable on my feet and my mobility wasn't the best.

"But I met some other players and saw what they could do, and it gave me a goal to reach in my recovery.

"That day I left and I was buzzing, and it became my goal to be able to run and to be able to sprint, and it just grew from there."

Sean's son was eight months old when he became ill, and he says improving his fitness through rugby has given him the confidence to run around and play with him again.

He says joining the team was the first time he ever opened up about having a stroke.

"It gives you a sense of belonging. I was always into sport and I thought I was never going to be playing sport again.

"I'm in a community now and in among people who have the same struggles as me.

"It's been massive for my recovery and in shaping who I am today."

Sara McFadden works with Vision Sports Ireland, which helps coordinate the team, but she is visually impaired and plays on it too.

Sara, who's 25, played a lot of camogie growing up, but found that as the game became quicker and more advanced, her vision wasn't up to the same standard.

"I eat, sleep and breathe sport, and it's so great to see other people get the opportunity to do that."

Having seen the impact of sport on her own life, Sara says inclusion is 'vital'.

"The research shows that one in ten children who are blind or visually impaired are meeting physical activity guidelines, so we need to try and improve that."

As the youngest on the team, she values being able to ask older players with visual impairments for advice.

"It's a really good opportunity for people to connect, and to share experiences, because it is unique being blind or visually impaired and there are a lot of things you have to deal with on a daily basis.

"We're living in a society where people [with visual impairments] are probably segregated a little bit, and still treated as being different.

"Yes, this is a visually impaired team, but our friends and families join in and we play against mainstream touch teams."

For coach David McKay, from Ballymena, County Antrim, the visually impaired team is one of three schemes he facilitates as the IRFU's Disability and Inclusion Officer.

He says coaching the team was "a little bit daunting at first", but listening to players has been essential.

Changing the colours of cones and using a ball with a bell are some adaptations he makes, but he says, most of all, "communication is key."

"People might think a sunny day is great, but for someone with a vision impairment, it might mean they can't see the ball because the light disruptions their vision."

But aside from some small changes, he says, the team pushes themselves like any other.

"The team's effort over the last five years since we began has been extraordinary. A combination of all that building up to the tour to Japan will be really special.

"It's being able to belong to your local rugby club, something that people take for granted. It's the opportunity to wear your club gear and be involved."