Produced by independent radio producer Susan Dennehy, Last One on the Train offers a 26-minute window into the lives of each of the six young participants as they navigate their day-to-day in a wheelchair.
The RTÉ Radio 1 docu-series brings a personal perspective to life for physically disabled people in Ireland, documenting the exclusion they encounter as well as celebrating all that the six series participants are achieving in their lives.
For the final installment of the series, listeners will meet writer, singer, and activist Maryam Madani.
The multi hyphenate powerhouse is the founder of Disability Power Ireland, and one of the great minds behind Ireland's first Disability Pride & Power Festival.
Speaking with RTÉ Lifestyle, Maryam spoke about her experience of being 'double othered', as well as creating a safe space for those within the disability community.
Reflecting on the origins of Disability Power Ireland (DPO), the 34-year-old says she was initially inspired by the joy she found while singing with The Discovery Gospel Choir.
"It's such a beautiful community," she says of Dublin's most inclusive choir. "There's so much joy and singing, and it was so uplifting just to be a part of that. Having been an activist, working with ILMI (Independent Living Movement Ireland), I really wanted to do something like that for the disabled community."
Cultivating a "joyful community celebration and space", the young woman began to put shape on Ireland's first Disability Pride and Power Festival.
"The disabled community has so much isolation," she explains. "I didn't really meet other disabled people until I was way too old, like I was about 28. There's so much stigma and so many societal barriers that we have to do alone for most of our lives."
Thankfully, Maryam believes that change is coming for future generations: "My hope is that if we create these cultural changes and cultural movements, younger disabled people won't have to feel like the odd one out all the time."
As well as creating a safe space for connection and support, the activist is working towards a cultural shift that will promote more diverse representation throughout society. In the near-future, she hopes that young people will see their bodies being "normalised and seen as beautiful".
Brimming with energy, and fueled with determination, the Dublin woman has been working to organise protests for disability rights and representation in political spaces.
"I was frustrated that there was a lack of radical movement ," she explains. "We've seen a lot of NGOs [non-profit institutions] that are run by non-disabled people - that's generally the space at the moment - and I wanted us to go back to having grassroots movements and pushing for change from the ground."
Of course, being a creative-at-heart, the young woman is determined to make her work at DPO as pretty as it is impactful.
"I want to make something colourful and beautiful, just to say that we're here," she smiles. "We're so invisible in society, we're very marginalised, and I think we needed disabled people themselves to run something like this."
One personal aspect that will be touched on in the docu-series is Maryam's experience of being 'double othered', as both a disabled person and a woman of colour.
While she hails from Dolphin's Barn in Co. Dublin, Maryam's parents are originally from India and Malaysia, with Arab heritage from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.
"I think you'll get the sense of how isolating it can be, to be feeling so othered that you, in a sense, struggle to feel human sometimes," she says. The journey to self-acceptance takes a long time because of that.
"Representation of someone who looks like me is so rare. Growing up you feel like this strange, othered being. That's why, for me, the idea of Disability Pride and a movement to recognise us is so important."
"It's so important to celebrate the beauty of our differences," she adds. "My hope is that young girls and disabled brown kids who might see these thing or hear the documentary, it might make things easier for them."
You can keep up to date with Maryam on keepitwheel.ie or follow her on Instagram @keepitwheelwithmaryam.
The next Disability Pride Parade is set to take place in Dublin on July 20.
Listen back to Last One on the Train here.
