One can never have enough socks,” said Dumbledore. “Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair.”
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

People insisted in giving him books.

Everybody has memories of Christmas. Many are nostalgic.

I am thinking so much these days of what was. Who was with us and isn’t anymore. How we were and ain’t anymore. What I felt and don’t anymore. How much I was expecting my presents, the tree appearing on Christmas Eve, the music, the light, the smells, the stillness, as if the world had come to a halt for that one night. There was no business, no shops, not even for batteries, no traffic. The annual, slightly awkward, visit to the relatives.

Then, there were a few Christmases in Hamburg when Pádraig was in hospital – one when we had great hopes, another when he was getting ready to be discharged and they were making arrangements to get him a permanent tracheostomy – which, thankfully, we were able to prevent.

For the last few years, it was Pádraig friends who made all the difference. The 80-year old woman in Connemara who provides the secret ingredient, Poitín, to the preparation of the unbelievably tasty mulled wine will most likely have no idea how much she contributes to this magic evening.

While the mulled wine that has become the signature dring of the evening, it is the company that makes it so unique.

Pádraig’s friends are a group of people the likes of whom I have never encountered anywhere else. They are incredibly warm, interesting, smart, helpful, and fun. While the thought has crossed my mind that I might see it that way because they are so young and energetic, I am sure it’s much more than that.

They know each other for close to two decades and they have been with Pádraig all the way from before to more than a decade after his accident. Some told me that it is him who has been bringing them together – from before and since his accident. So nothing has changed.

Yet, things have been changing for so many reasons. This year, for example, for the first time one of his friends brought their baby along. They are all settling down from what some described as having been pretty wild years being out and about.

Which is how life continues. From being carefree to taking responsibility, not just for yourself but also for others. Contributing. Planning. Inspiring.

Pádraig has been doing exactly this.

It is his inspirational outlook that lead to the establishment of the An Saol Foundation, the setting up of the An Saol Foundation Centre, and, now, the submission of the application for planning permission for Teach An Saol – The National Centre for Life and Living with a severe Acquired Brain Injury, at Shangan Road in Ballymun.

What a Christmas Present this is. For so many people. Made possible by those Pádraig inspired. Some of whom he knows and some he has never even met. Other clients of An Saol. Staff. Volunteers. Politicians, planners, engineers, architects, lawyers and many more.

The best presents are those you hope for so badly but are were never sure whether they will actually materialise.

Not sure whether Dumbledore will be lucky this year and get a pair of socks instead of the usual books.

I am, however, absolutely certain that we could not have done much better!

Nollaig Shona. Happy Christmas. Frohe Weihnachten. Feliz Navidad.