Probus Wednesday 13th May 2026. Speaker, Mr Sean Harpur
The speaker on Wednesday 13th May was Mr Sean Harpur accompanied by his guide dog, Benny. Sean has Retinitis Pigmentosa, a form of blindness which is hereditary. His Grandfather, who lived in Drumquin, was known as the “Blind Thatcher,” because he was able to work on at his trade after losing his sight. Sean himself worked as an electrician alongside his father until progressive blindness forced both to quit. Since then, Sean has worked as a disc jockey and a visitor guide in Gorton Glen Forest Park.
Misfortune struck again when his sister Anne suffered kidney failure and desperately needed a transplant. When it transpired that Sean’s kidneys were a perfect match, he did not hesitate to donate one of his healthy kidneys to his sister. Since then, he has dedicated time and energy to fund raising for transplant surgery, organising sponsored walks, cycling from Malin to Mizen in 2002 and from Mizen to Malin in 2003.
Sean’s association with Gordon Glen Forest Park owes much to the fact that his grandmother lived in a cottage within the confines of the park and as a child he was a frequent visitor. In 2019 the park received funding from FODC to the tune of £1,000,000 an investment which has transformed the Glens into the council’s most visited tourist attraction.
In a lively question and answer session Sean talked about how the park was used in 1943 by American troops to prepare for the D-Day landings. A large cold-water tank was constructed for GI’s to wade across to simulate landing on the beaches of France. This and other gems of history served to enliven a very memorable morning.