A LITTLE girl from Courtnacuddy has been honoured at the first ever Pride of Ireland awards for secretly teaching herself to walk despite having Celebral Palsy.

Alyssa Kelly (6) was presented with the Child of Courage award at the star-studded ceremony, which was hosted by The Saturdays singer Una Foden.

Judges, including Louis Walsh, Philomena Lee and Conor McGregor, chose Alyssa as one of 13 award recipients for showing that “true grit and determination can make a massive difference in our lives.”

They went on to describe the child as “an inspiring young girl who will no doubt make a difference in this world.”

For five years, Alyssa Kelly had watched in frustration as her twin sister Amber scrambled to toddle, walk and then run.

Confined to a wheelchair, the youngster had been told she couldn’t walk because she had Cerebral Palsy.

But when Alyssa hit her fifth birthday, she secretly hatched a plan to prove the doctors wrong.

A year later, she called to her parents “Roll up, roll up, come and see what I can do” and took her first steps without any help, after months of secret, painful practice on her own.

For the first time in her life in front of anyone, she got up on her feet and walked five steps, marking the last day Alyssa used her wheelchair.

Full story in this week’s Echo.