Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds

Rosaleen (Rosie) Moriarty-Simmonds OBE (born 1960) is a British businesswoman, artist and disability rights campaigner. She was born without arms or legs after her mother was prescribed thalidomide in pregnancy.[1]

Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds

Education

She attended Ysgol Erw'r Delyn, a special school in Penarth, and from age 14 Treloar School in Alton, at that time the only school in the UK to offer an academic education for students with disabilities.[1] She was the first disabled student to enrol at Cardiff University, graduating in 1985 with a BSc degree in psychology.[1][2]

Career

After graduating Moriarty-Simmonds worked in the civil service at Companies House for seven years, at Executive Officer level.[1][3] In 1995 she established RMS Disability Issues Consultancy, which offers training in Disability Issues.[4] She has appeared in many radio and television programmes, starting with an appearance in a television news bulletin at the age of two.[5]

She was one of the leading campaigners for the creation of the Thalidomide Memorial in Cathays Park, Cardiff, to commemorate the survivors of thalidomide and those who fought for justice for them, and made a speech at its unveiling in 2016.[6][7]

She has taken up painting and has been accepted as a student member of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists.[2]

Publication

In 2007 she published her autobiography Four Fingers and Thirteen Toes (revised ed 2009 AuthorHouse UK, ISBN 978-1438942995).

Awards and honours

She was appointed O.B.E. in the 2015 New Year Honours "For Services to the Equality and Rights of Disabled People".[8]

In 2017 Cardiff University awarded her an Honorary Fellowship, describing her as "a forthright and passionate speaker" who "has worked at the highest level ... to make significant changes in attitudes to disability".[9]

Personal life

She married Stephen Simmonds, a solicitor, who is also Thalidomide impaired, in 1988. They have one son, born in 1995 after three earlier miscarriages.[1][10] Her hobbies are photography and acting.[2]

References
  1. Wightwick, Abbbie (17 April 2013). "'Having four fingers and 13 toes never stopped me doing what I love': Thalidomide campaigner opens up on her inspirational battle against the odds". Wales Online. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  2. "Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds OBE". Mouth and Foot Painting Artists. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  3. "Personnel". RMS Consulting. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  4. "Rosaleen (Rosie) Moriarty-Simmonds BSc. (Hons)". Disability Arts Cymru. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  5. "Media". RMS Consultancy. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  6. "Thalidomide memorial unveiled in Cathays Park, Cardiff". BBC News. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  7. Ruth (1 July 2016). "To Remember is to Care – Thalidomide Memorial". Thalidomide Society. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  8. "No. 61092". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 December 2014. p. N15.
  9. "Honorary Fellowships 2017". Cardiff University. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  10. Mears, Tyler (24 January 2016). "What's it like being the son of TWO victims of thalidomide? James Moriarty-Simmonds tells his story". Wales Online. Retrieved 1 October 2017.


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