Council Chair announces Skyzdalimit as his chosen charity

Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Thomas O’Reilly, has selected Omagh theatre group, Skyzdalimit, as his chosen charity for this term as Chair. 

Skyzdalimit is a theatre group for learning disabled and autistic actors and actresses which was formed in 2010 by Pearse McCloskey with the aim of making theatre more diverse and attracting mainstream audiences to promote diversity and inclusion.  It currently has 38 members and has a waiting list of avid actors and actresses wishing to join.  The group has staged ten productions locally and in 2022 they took their performance of Circus the Musical on the road to The Helix Theatre, Dublin and the Waterfront, Belfast.

Speaking about his chosen charity, Councillor Thomas O’Reilly, said, “I was invited to attend Skyzdalimit’s performance of ‘Danny and Sandy – The Wedding’ in June of this year and I was very impressed by the exceptional talent and enthusiasm of the cast and Pearse.

“I look forward to working with Skyzdalimit to help them strive towards their goal of showcasing the talents of the group beyond Omagh and making disability and the arts more inclusive.  The Group has a long-term vision of achieving a 32-county model for the arts based on that of the Special Olympics.

“The arts is one form of creativity and self-expression that everyone can participate in and inclusivity, diversity and equality in the arts is key to showcasing the real level of talent we have in our local communities.”

On learning that Skyzdalimit had been selected as the Chair’s chosen charity, Chair of Skyzdalimit, Sheena McCooey, said, “Skyzdalimit feel very honoured to be selected by the Chair of FODC, Councillor Thomas O’Reilly, to be his chosen charity for his term in office.

“Our facilitator Pearse McCloskey, our volunteers and my fellow Committee members in Skyzdalimit work very hard behind the scenes supporting our members so we are delighted that Councillor O’Reilly, with his endorsement and support, can help us to address and remove existing obstacles to social inclusion and ensure our members have access and equality of opportunity in the arts, culture and leisure activities in the FODC area as well as further afield.

With his assistance we can create a culture where positive attitudes are promoted towards people with a disability, whilst raising the profile of our club.”

Skyzdalimit will be staging their performance of Danny and Sand The Wedding in the Mac Theatre, Belfast on Saturday, October 7 2023 and they are already putting plans in place for their next production.