Muscular Dystrophy Ireland

Muscular Dystrophy Ireland (MDI) is a voluntary organization which was established in 1972 by a small group of people in the west of Ireland to support families who had a member with muscular dystrophy. Since then it has grown considerably and it now has a membership of over 750 members and a network of support staff throughout Ireland.

MDI’s primary objective is to provide support for people and their families who are living with muscular dystrophy and allied neuromuscular condition.

Muscular Dystrophy Ireland aims to provide information and support to people with neuromuscular conditions and their families through a range of support services. Our objective is to promote through practical empowerment, independent living for people with the condition muscular dystrophy.

MDI supports advocating for services to enable people with neuromuscular conditions to fully participate in society and to live a life of their own choosing. MDI also aims to support and fund research into neuromuscular conditions.

For more details about what we do, the services we provide and for further information, please visit the various links above.

What is muscular dystrophy?

Muscular dystrophy is the collective name for a range of neuromuscular conditions, which are characterized by the progressive weakening and wasting of the muscles. It can affect adults and children. Some forms arise at birth or in childhood, others may not manifest themselves until later in life. Each type of muscular dystrophy arises from a different genetic mutation or deletion which is inherited from one or both parents, or is due to a spontaneous mutation. This means that there are many families who have more than one member with the condition. There is no cure for muscular dystrophy but there have been huge advances in increasing the quality of life for people with the condition and scientists around the world are working hard to develop new treatments.