Leinster vs Connacht

Club in Focus
WANDERERS FC
“People with Down Syndrome
need to feel loved, valued
and included.” Beauden Barrett.
It started out as an idea.
It ended up as a social
media sensation.
The sight of the Together
Academy performing the Haka
in front of the All Blacks the day
before Ireland’s win exploded
worldwide last month.
All Blacks respect TA Haka
It all evolved out of the connection
made between the Academy, the IRFU
and the Barrett brothers, Beauden,
Jordi and Scott, who have been vocal
about supporting the Down Syndrome
community in light of their little sister Zara.
“We made a connection to Zara
Barrett, Beauden and Jordi’s sister, who
has Down Syndrome,” says Together
Academy founder Therese Coveney.
“It was never meant to be a huge event.
We had only two days notice. We
engaged the Maori community in Dublin
and two great guys came and trained the
lads properly.
“Elverys jumped aboard to sponsor
jerseys. Tony Doyle Coaches gave us
a bus and we were off to perform the
Haka.
“The Together Academy students did
an amazing job. It was very moving. It
turned into a huge event because the
All Blacks released it onto their social
platforms.”
At last count, it registered more than two
million hits on Twitter, one-and-a-half
million views on Instagram and over
seven-and-a-half million downloads on
TikTok, bringing a spotlight onto a new
venture.
The Together Academy is a training
college and social enterprise for young
adults with Down Syndrome.
“It was set up because of the
unacceptable statistic that 90 per cent of
adults with Down Syndrome in Ireland
are not in paid employment,” says
Therese.
“We have a daughter, April, with DS
and that statistic really bothered me.
I think everyone can acknowledge it
is unacceptable. I spent nearly two
years researching projects, locally and
internationally, that worked for adults
with intellectual disabilities with our
Programme Manager, Cathy Smith.
“At the moment, a young adult receives
their disability payment and goes into
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