Unable to secure schooling for her son, Patricia Farrell, the mother of a young boy with Down Syndrome placed an ad in the Irish Times in 1955: "Association for Parents of Mentally Backward Children. Lady wishing to form above would like to contact anyone interested. Box Z 5061 Children."From this small advertisement and great support from Co-founder, Madge Atock, St. Michael's House was born. In 1955, St. Michael's House set out to develop new community services and bring about a change in how people with an intellectual disability were viewed. Today our ethos remains and we provide services for 1,751 people with an intellectual disability and their families in the Greater Dublin Area and Navan Co Meath.