Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind announced as Rochestown Park Hotel Charity Partner

Key areas of focus will be awareness, training and accessibility

Cork’s Rochestown Park Hotel has announced Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind as their charity partner to support the organisation’s mission to provide mobility and independence to those who are vision impaired and the families of children with autism.

The elements of this new partnership will include:

• Signage displayed in the main hotel reception area illustrating what guide dogs and assistance dogs look like in their working jackets and advising that they should not be petted, fed or distracted while they are working.
• Informative signage in other public and back of house areas on the premises.
• In-house training with several key staff members advocating for the charity’s strategy to raise awareness for accessibility and also taking up roles as puppy raisers or by caring for dogs in their advanced training.
• The hotel will also become a familiar environment for the charity’s dogs in training, who will use the facilities to get accustomed to escalators, stairs, and the bustling atmosphere of restaurants and bars.

Since 2022, the Rochestown Park Hotel has supported a variety of initiatives to help raise awareness about the role of autism assistance dogs and of how they assist, not just the children with whom they are matched, but the entire family unit. During this time, many members of the management and staff of the hotel volunteered their time to fundraise for, and advocate on behalf of, families with autism. The hotel supported the conceptualisation and promotion of a comprehensive awareness programme, the initial aim of which, was to inform employees, guests, diners and leisure club members of how to adapt or modify their behaviour, when they encounter families accompanied by an assistance dog, not just in a hospitality or leisure setting, but anywhere. This programme soon became a national success and received coverage on television, on the airwaves and in print media.

The Rochestown Park Hotel team is confident that they can use their experience to help support Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind’s strategic plan, PAWS.

• Promoting accessibility and inclusion within businesses, education, representative bodies, sporting organisations and society at large.
• Awareness raising and fundraising activities across all levels of organisations and communities.
• Working to educate about the role of our Guide, Assistance and Community Dogs and how they are bred, raised, trained, and matched with our clients.
• Supporting clients and families so that they feel empowered to live independent and enriched lives within their communities and workplaces.

At the official launch of the partnership, Steve Cox, Sales & Marketing Manager at the Rochestown Park Hotel, said, “In recent years we have seen a noticeable increase in the number of both assistance dogs and guide dogs accompanying guests and visitors in the hotel. We know that before launching our pilot hospitality sector autism awareness programme in 2022, many guests and diners in the hotel, and indeed many team members, were unfamiliar with how to behave around service dogs. By investing our time in raising awareness, we know we have contributed in a very significant way, to creating better experiences for children, individuals and families. The hotel has a very long tradition of community engagement, which fits perfectly with the grassroots approach that the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is so well known for. Therefore, we believe that now is an ideal time for us to broaden our awareness-raising activities for the benefit of a wider community, to include those who are vision impaired and the families of children with autism."

Tim O’ Mahony, Chief Executive of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, said, “We are delighted to have the support of the Rochestown Park Hotel team and are deeply grateful for their proactive approach in raising awareness of our work. Their dedication to ensuring that our clients can fully enjoy the hotel’s amenities in comfort and safety is truly commendable. By educating staff about the important role of guide dogs, assistance dogs and community dogs, they’re fostering more inclusive and supportive communities. Their backing of our access rights campaign* is especially vital as 83% of our clients continue to face challenges despite having the legal right to access these spaces. We’re looking forward to seeing how this partnership evolves and are confident that staff and guests will enjoy watching our puppies and dogs in training learn to navigate a busy hospitality environment with skill and confidence."

* Free Show your Paws for Access Rights window stickers can be requested at Access@GuideDogs.ie