He Ain’t Heavy

We had hoped to grab a table at Greystones’ most exclusive restaurant, Joker’s, but, being a Saturday, the place was fully booked.

So, instead, GG sat down with Benny Taglienti and his rockin’ daughter, Sabrina, just across the road from his second home, for a quick chat.

Having first moved to Ireland from the small Italian town of Settefrati back in 1976 – with ma and pa, and his five brothers – it was in the early 1980s that the Taglienti clan took over the town’s thriving new chipper.

Today, Benny has had to take a step back from that second home, having being diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease in August, 2017. First identified by French physician JM Charcot back in 1874, MND doesn’t affect the brain, nor the five senses, but it does weaken the hands and legs, and can induce a general feeling of tiredness, along with muscle pains, cramps, slurred speech and muscle twitches.

Not that any of this has managed to dampen Benny Taglienti’s trademark sunny disposition, having always been a man who’s thankful for whatever he’s got. And he just happens to have a wonderful wife, Carol, and three adoring daughters, Lisa, Sabrina and Nadia.

Young Sabrina is with Benny today, and although camera-shy – and feeling the fatigue that comes with being four months pregnant – is keen to support her dad in every way that she can, both spiritually and physically. It’s Sabrina who helps Benny make the walk up from the car park, and who ensures that her dad is sitting comfortably before the coffees have even been ordered.

With a fundraising page having been set-up to meet all the new demands of Benny’s new reality, the family have been constantly taken aback by the support and love – and offers of help – that have come their way. Right now, a Kilkenny friend from Benny’s beloved biking days is installing a €6,000 stairlift in the family home. For free.

If you have a spare fiver or tenner, throw it right here. There’ll also be a special gala screening at The Whale in March, with all the proceeds going to the fund to make Benny’s day-to-day easier – details soon.

In the meantime, Benny and Sabrina gave us a little insight into those day-to-day challenges, the incredible support they’ve been shown, and the importance of family in tough times…

You can find out a little more about the great Benny Taglienti through his My Greystones entry last November.