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Stephen Cluskey

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Stephen Cluskey
Born (1984-06-04) 4 June 1984 (age 40)
NationalityIrish
TelevisionThe Late Late Show
RelativesJames Cluskey(brother)
AwardsSocial Justice Award,
Social Entrepreneur of Ireland,
Nissan Generation Next Ambassador

Stephen Cluskey (born 4 June 1984) is a social entrepreneur and advocate for people with accessible needs from Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. He is the middle child of three, to parents Kevin and Esme, and brother of ex Irish international tennis player James Cluskey. After attending St Colmcilles boys National School in Swords, he then went to Belvedere College in Dublin city centre.[1]

Accident

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At the age of 18, Cluskey was about to enter into his leaving certificate year in Belvedere College when he had a catastrophic spinal cord injury.[2] Cluskey was out camping with friends and fell from a hay bale, breaking his neck at the C2, C3, C4 and C5 levels. He was taken to the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin and later transferred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire to undergo physical and occupational therapy.[3]

Advocacy work

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Cluskey has been involved in a number of disability related advocacy actions. In 2013, after getting stranded on a night out trying to get a wheelchair accessible taxi, he lobbied the government and was appointed by Minister Alan Kelly to the taxi advisory committee and by current Irish Taoiseach prime minister Leo Varadkar to help put more wheelchair accessible taxis on Irish roads.[4][5]

Rise to fame

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In April 2017, Cluskey was invited to appear on the Irish chat show The Late Late Show. This brought him to public attention. As part of the segment, he was joined by TV presenter Kathryn Thomas and ex-Irish international football star Kevin Kilbane who both undertook a challenge to experience life in a wheelchair.[6][7] Before this, he had devised Rugbys Wheelchair Challenge,[8] which challenged Irish rugby stars Jamie Heaslip, Shane Byrne, Felix Jones and David Wallace to travel from the Aviva Stadium in Dublin to Thomond Park in Limerick and aired on the Irish national broadcaster TV3.[9] The show was produced by Loosehorse productions[10] and went on to be nominated for an IFTA award for Best Reality TV Show.[11]

Stephen is now co-founder of Mobility Mojo, a Saas company which makes 'Hotel Accessibility Simple'. The company works with hotels to highlight their accessibility features and showcase the vital information needed for those with a hearing, visual or mobility impairment.[12]

Stephen is an international speaker and thought leader in the area of accessibility speaking at two global hospitality events in 2019, Skift Europe Forum and Skift Global Forum, about the value of accessible tourism in the world today.[13]

Awards and honours

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In 2016 Cluskey received a Social Entrepreneurs of Ireland award for his co-founded social enterprise Mobility Mojo.[14][15] He was awarded a Social Justice Award from Belvedere College in 2016 [16] and a David Manley Emerging Social Entrepreneur award in 2014.[17] Nissan Ireland made Cluskey a Nissan Generation Next Ambassador for 2016 - 2017.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Stephen Cluskey Award-Winning Entrepreneur & Public Speaker". Stephen Cluskey Award-Winning Entrepreneur & Public Speaker. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Friends in fundraiser for brave accident victim Stephen". Irish Independent. 15 April 2005. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  3. ^ "At 18, I felt invincible but a sudden accident left me paralysed from the neck down". The Journal. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  4. ^ "I know from experience – it's not pleasant being stranded using a wheelchair". The Journal. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Taxi Advisory Committee". National Transport Authority. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Two celebs went around Dublin in a wheelchair to highlight Ireland's inaccessible streets". Irish Examiner. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  7. ^ "KATHRYN THOMAS AND KEVIN KILBANE WENT AROUND DUBLIN IN WHEELCHAIRS". RSVP magazine. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Stephen Cluskey Gives Rugby Stars A Wheelchair Challenge". Bluebird Care. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Jamie Heaslip and Felix Jones travel from Aviva to Thomond in wheelchairs". Joe media. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Rugbys Wheelchair Challenge". loosehorse.ie. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  11. ^ "IFTA Gala Television Awards Nominations 2016". The Irish Film & Television Academy. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Accessibility Made Simple | Mobility Mojo".
  13. ^ "Mobility Mojo CEO at Skift Global Forum 2019". YouTube.
  14. ^ Niall Sargent (11 October 2016). "Mobility Mojo: Reduced mobility travel app wins SEI award". Irishtimes.com. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  15. ^ "Mobility Mojo Elevator Winner 2016". socialentrepreneurs.ie. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Recent News - Belvedere College S.J". Belvederecollege.ie. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Double delight for entrepreneurs". Independent.ie. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Advocate for Irish people with disabilities and Nissan Generation Next Select 2016". Nissan Ireland. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
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  • [1] Cluskey explains challenge access campaign on the Late Late Show
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