About Us

The Clare Crusaders was formed in 2005 by Howard Flannery to help Children with Special Needs in the areas of CerebralPalsy, Autism, DownSyndrome and a variety of other conditions. We have a clinic in Barefield, County Clare, with 6 therapists providing speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy to 120 children in the Clare region free of charge. All funds are raised through volunteers and we do not receive government funding.

If you would like more information about the clinic, please email <clinic AT clarecrusaders DOT ie>. You can read more about who we are and what we do, or phone us at 065 - 689 6015. If there is no answer, you can either leave a message or contact the clinic manager, Ann Norton, on 087 6679340. Please note that attendance in the clinic is by appointment only - there is no receptionist present. You can call one of the numbers listed above or email clinic@clarecrusaders.ie for further enquiries.

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Therapists

Ann Norton

Ann Norton manages the Clare Crusaders Clinic on a voluntary basis. She is a mother of 3 and her oldest daughter Nicole has CerebralPalsy. Ann is also a Reflexolgist with over 16 years experience and provides 10 hours per week of reflexology to children attending the clinic. Ann is also involved in various fund-raising projects and has done so since the inception of the Clare Crusaders.

If you are planning on organising a fund-raising event for the Clare Crusaders, please contact events@clarecrusaders.ie beforehand to have all details centrally available.

Margaret Burgess

Margaret Burgess qualified from the National University of Ireland, Galway with an Honours degree in speech and language therapy, B.S.C Hons Speech and Language Therapy.

Her caseload consists primarily of children and adolescents with pervasive developmental disorders, intellectual and physical disabilities. She is a graduate member of The Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists and the Royal college of Speech and Language Therapy. She is involved in clinical supervision frequently to ensure continuing professional development.

Margaret works closely with parents / primary caregivers as well as the rest of the multidisciplinary team to ensure comprehensive and effective treatment on a regular basis.

Anél Wiese

Anél Wiese is a physiotherapist registered with the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists, the Health Professionals Council of South Africa and she is a member of the Chartered Physiotherapists in Paediatrics. She qualified at the University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town South Africa and gained valuable experience working in the public health sector as well as doing locum work in various private clinics.

Due to her extensive training in paediatric neurology and working experience in this field, she joined the Clare Crusaders early in 2008. All her patients are individually assessed and treated according to scientific evidence based practice.

Anél works closely with parents / primary caregivers as well as the rest of the multidisciplinary team employed by the Clare Crusaders to ensure comprehensive and effective treatment on a regular basis.

Mary Frawley

Mary Frawley is an occupational therapist currently working in the Clare Crusaders charity. Mary qualified in June 2008 with an honours occupational therapy degree (BSc Hons occupational therapy) from the University College Cork (UCC).

Mary’s caseload consists primarily of children with the diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, developmental coordination disorder, Cerebral Palsy and Down Syndrome. Her role is to assess and collaboratively set therapeutic goals with each child and to subsequently provide effective interventions which will facilitate each child to achieve their goals.

Mary is registered with the department of health and children and is a member of the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland. She has gained a lot of experience working with children of all ages and various special needs since graduating from university and thoroughly enjoys working as a paediatric occupational therapist.

Aoiffe Lynch

Aoiffe Lynch graduated with a B.A degree in Montessori Education from St. Nicholas Montessori College Ireland in 2008. Her degree enables her to teach children up to 12 years of age. As part of her training Aoiffe has gained an extensive knowledge in many aspects of Montessori Education including, Montessori Theory, Methodology, Psychology and Special Education.

Aoiffe’s caseload consists primarily of children with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Specific learning Difficulties, Cerebral Palsy and Down syndrome. Part of her role is to improve the child’s cognitive functions, fine motor skills, hand eye coordination and to help concentration. Aoiffe works closely with the rest of the multi-disciplinary team to provide suitable learning strategies that suit the needs of each individual child.

Aoiffe has completed Children’s First child protection and Welfare Issues course during her Montessori training. Aoiffe is also a member of the Teaching Council of Ireland.