A Life Changing Legacy

A Life Changing Legacy

A Life Changing Legacy – Irish Dogs for the Disabled Welcomes New Partnership with Irish Hospital Supplies Honouring Vincent Farrell

Press Release : Thursday 10th July 2025, Bray, Co. Wicklow

Irish Dogs for the Disabled is proud to announce a future-transforming partnership made possible by the generosity of the Farrell family and Irish Hospital Supplies, in loving memory of company founder Vincent Farrell, who passed away in 2022. In a touching tribute, Vincent’s widow Muriel, his daughters Niamh and Michelle, and newly appointed CEO Liam Regan joined the charity to meet a special new recruit — a Golden Retriever puppy named “Vincent” . This puppy-in-training, fully sponsored by Irish Hospital Supplies, is destined to become a life-changing Assistance Dog for a physically disabled child or adult in two years’ time.

Founded in 2007, Dogs for the Disabled train specially bred dogs to assist disabled adults and children to help them achieve greater independence in their lives.

Dogs for the Disabled receives no annual government funding. Each of life-changing dog costs €15,000 to produce and the charity have a very strict policy that no money exchanges hands for their dogs. This ensures they retain legal ownership of each dog throughout their lifetime to guarantee their welfare and care and, most importantly, to ensure that beneficiaries receive their dog based on need and not their ability to pay.

With 35 dogs qualified each year and 145 individuals currently on the waiting list, this heartfelt corporate sponsorship is a vital step toward reducing the current three-year wait time thus creating a life changing legacy for a highly trained assistance dog. Speaking at the event, representatives from both the Farrell family and Irish Dogs for the Disabled expressed their excitement and gratitude for a partnership rooted in compassion, community, and Vincent Farrell’s enduring legacy.

Irish Dogs for the Disabled representative Duncan Hughes with Muriel Farrell, Liam Regan, Golden Retriever puppy-in-training “Vincent” and charity ambassador dog Linny

Collaborating With Our Community

One thing we’ve found to be true is that no one is successful all on their own. Whether they have a strong team behind them, or they collaborate with others outside their organisation to get the job done, every leader depends on others in some way to grow, learn and achieve their goals. No matter what line of work or industry you’re in, the time will come when you have to decide if forging partnerships with other companies will help propel your business forward. Sometimes, you’ll be asked to partner with other companies to ensure the success of both businesses. Or, in this case, partnering with an organisation that aligns with your value set, not only helps their business mission, but ultimately aligns with ours . . . in the case ‘we make lives better’

We’ve always believed that establishing business partnerships is one of the most important steps we can take to grow, learn and ultimately surpass our expectations of what’s possible. When looking to partner with others, there are a few things that we always take the time to consider, and we’ve found that whenever we follow these guidelines, we end up with strong partnerships that really stand the test of time.

– Take The Time To Choose
– Always Base Partnerships On Trust
– Define Your Parameters

To this end, the team at Irish Hospital Supplies are thrilled to collaborate with The Rehab Group

Working Together

Employability and social enterprise is a key driver behind the reason why IHS partnered with The Rehab Group. We are delighted to have launched our programme for business for 2025 which will work together with our community partner to help integrate individuals back into the workforce.

IHS Sponsor the Rehab Group

For more than 70 years, the Rehab Group has been working to break down the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from living ordinary lives in their communities. Through these decades of work and the dedication and commitment of their employees, many thousands of people have seen their lives transformed; achieving levels of independence, educational attainment, and career progression that may have seemed out of reach.

This was one of the main reasons that the team in Irish Hospital Supplies wanted to partner with the Rehab Group. As it enables more than 12,800 people with disabilities to live lives of their choosing in Ireland, Scotland and Poland. With a purpose to empower those they support to lead more independent lives and play an active and meaningful role in their communities.