The sky is the limit for Co Antrim pilot Matthew Monaghan who has refused to take no for an answer his entire life after being born with a rare congenital condition.
This week he hopes his dream of flying a plane solo into Northern Ireland’s busiest airport will become a reality as he soars above the many obstacles he has faced and proves his doubters wrong.
The 36-year-old, who was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy at the age of six, has spent the best part of the last decade fighting red tape to realise his ambition.
“I’m so proud of him for what he’s achieved,” his sister Nichola Steele told the Belfast Telegraph as the pair headed to Ards airfield this afternoon for what was to be her first flight with her brother at the controls in his specially adapted light aircraft.
“As a family we’re amazed at what he has been able to achieve, though not surprised, for all his life he has let nothing stand in his way of doing what he wanted to do.”
Matthew has been taking flying lessons in England thanks to RAF Fairfield based charity Flying Scholarships for Disabled People.
“He self-funded it all. There was no option here in Northern Ireland,” Nichola explained.
Matthew Monaghan has spend the last decade travelling to England where he has been taking flying lessons with the help of the Flying Scholarships for Disabled People charity
“It’s been an eight-year process. He has flown through every hoop and we’re all so proud of him for the determination he’s shown all his life. With all the restrictions and assessments he’s had to go through, he’s had to be determined.”
Despite having already clocked up solo flight time across the water, Matthew has been restricted to specific airspace in NI.
“He can fly around Enniskillen and across the Mournes from Newtownards,” Nichola said.
“When he came back from a flight over the Mournes and down towards Kilkeel I think that’s when he finally realised what he has been able to do. He said there was nothing like the freedom, soaring over Silent Valley with the Mournes and the coastline stretching out before him.”
Having lost much of the power in his legs almost 10 years ago Matthew has discovered a sense of empowerment behind the controls of his light aircraft.
“Now he’s flown a small two-man plane solo — the next step is to move up to a four-man plane, with three passengers,” Nichola said.
“But before that he wants to fly into Aldergrove.
“The plan is for that to happen later this week.”
Matthew Monaghan ready for take off
Matthew was three-years-old when his mother Geraldine suspected something wasn’t right with the youngest of her four children who was eventually diagnosed with the muscle wasting condition three years later.
His sister said neurologists and other medical experts “are still scratching their heads about the exact nature of his disability”.
“We see him as a bit of a pioneer despite the adversity, discrimination, physical and psychological challenges he has had to endure,” Nichola added.
“But all through it he held on to the dream of learning to fly.”
There have been plenty of barriers for Matthew to overcome and turbulence along the way, but his parents have always been by his side.
“Mum and dad have been his biggest supporters, they have fought tooth and nail for him all his life, and that’s rubbed off on Matthew. He won’t let anything get in his way,” Nichola said.
“Even looking back to his time at school, we were told there was no mainstream school that could accommodate him his needs were deemed so complex.
Matthew Monaghan is hoping to land at Aldergrove later this week
Glengormley man Matthew Monaghan has refused to let his disability get in the way of following his dream of flying solo
“All through his life there have been people telling him he can’t, but he does. His mind has always been as sharp as a tack. His next challenge is to complete his Masters Degree in French, something that was difficult for us to imagine when we had to fight to get him into mainstream school.
“There was so little support for children with his condition in Northern Ireland.
“We were told he may never walk, but he taught himself to walk,” Nichola continued.
“It’s only in recent years when he’s had to rely on a walking frame to help him move about.
“Of all the obstacles that made the journey to where he is now extremely difficult, plane adaptation was probably amongst the easiest to overcome.”
Next step this one! Matthew Monaghan has let nothing get in his way of following his dream of flying solo
Matthew is preparing for a practice run with an instructor this week before he will be left on his own.
“It won’t be a problem for him, he already has so much more experience than pilots without disabilities,” Nichola said.
“It’s just a shame that everything he’s achieved has been made all the harder through no fault of his own.
“But it’s a great example for anyone out here who has had those barriers put up in front of them that they can be overcome.
“When he completes his Aldergrove landing he’ll be able to fly virtually anywhere — he’ll have to take me to France, and with his Masters in French he can do all the talking!”