Some people are a pleasure to talk to: upbeat, happy and eternally optimistic without being annoying. Noel McCauley is one. A conversation with him leaves you feeling hopeful, lightened somehow. He’s like the Christmas Spirit personified — he is named Noel — refusing to let life’s difficulties get him down. So it’s no wonder that he has forged such a brilliant network of friends and dedicated followers on the streets of Enniskillen, Galway and Sligo, where he has been selling the Ireland’s Big Issue since 1996.
Born in Donegal in 1946, Noel was the third youngest of 11 children. His father was a farmer, raising dairy cattle, as well as growing barley, corn and potatoes. “My father was a great man for the spuds,” Noel says. “We exported them all over the world to countries like Spain, Egypt and Israel. We all pulled our weight on the farm, but I had a very good childhood.
Until he was 5, Noel had pretty good eyesight, but it began to deteriorate rapidly, and by the time he was six and a half, Noel was blind. (His mother had rubella before he was born, which caused his sight loss). “I found it fairly easy because I was young,” he says. “Children of that age can adapt to anything.”
Between the ages of 7 and 16, Noel attended a school outside Belfast for blind and partially sighted children. He worked in Cork doing basket work, but only stuck it out for six months. This was a time in Ireland where opportunities for disabled people were limited, and there was no equality legislation. Noel returned to work on the family farm while searching for other options.
In 1981 he found employment in Letterkenny in a manufacturing company, and it was there he met his life-long friend and companion Madeline. “She is a very trustworthy friend and goes everywhere with me, helps me with my housework and reads me the paper.”
In 1985, Noel trained for and represented Ireland in the Special Olympics, winning a silver medal for the 800 meter, bronze for the long jump and fourth place in the shot-put. He was nominated as “handicapped sportsperson of the year” in Donegal with a special presentation held in his honor: “People cheering you on the field and cheering you from all directions — it’s a great experience,” he said.
In 1987, on hearing that there were opportunities for blind people to train as telephonists, Noel applied for the course. He travelled to Sligo for the interview and was offered a place. When Noel’s training as a telephonist became obsolete, due to automation of the system, he spent years unemployed but didn’t allow himself to become depressed.
In 1996, on hearing there might be an opportunity to work the switchboard in Ireland’s Big Issue office in Sligo, he applied. On being told there was a long waiting list, he was offered instead the chance to sell the magazine. Noel says he came back at 5 p.m. the the equivalent of more than $20 in his pocket, the first money he had earned in years. “I thought this was marvelous,” he said. “It took off from there, and I’ve never looked back.”
Noel has often befriended the homeless people he meets on the streets. He says he has noticed an increase in homeless people in recent years. “It is mostly down to government cutbacks — especially in the area of rent allowance — where people are forced onto the streets. I feel so sorry for them.”