Barretstown opens to public for 'Big Picnic' fundraiser

RTÉ News​

2 days ago

Children's charity Barretstown opened its gates to the public for its annual Big Picnic event.
The charity supports children affected by serious illness, with around 27,000 children receiving help from Barretstown each year.
Barretstown runs outreach programmes to hospitals, schools and community groups and 5,000 children and their families avail of its services at its campus in Ballymore Eustace in Co Kildare.
Ciara Cogley, 14, from Co Wexford has been coming with her family for the past four years.
She lives with a rare, inherited blood condition called hereditary spherocytosis, which requires lifelong care.
It affects her red blood cells, causing conditions like regular jaundice and tiredness.
However, she said she can participate in many of the activities at Barretstown, including horse riding, rock climbing, archery, canoeing and fishing.
"We've been coming since 2021 and every time it just gets better," she said. "Its just magical," Ciara added.
Her dad Darryl said: "Its unbelievable what Barretstown do. I mean you leave your problems at the door, at the gate as you come in."
The charity needs €10 million in funding annually to provide its services, which are both residential and outreach.
Its CEO Dee Ahearn said fundraising is always a challenge as the charity gets just 4% of its operating costs from the Government each year.
"This year, Barretstown will serve 27,000 campers and 5,000 of those will be served through our residential services here at Barretstown, but they'll also be served through our outreach programmes in hospitals, schools and communities all over Ireland," she said.
Ms Ahearn said the charity also goes into the homes of families where a child can be too sick to go to Co Kildare for a residential stay.
"When a child is diagnosed with a serious illness, these families are plunged into a world of hospitals, doctors and often gruelling treatment," she explained.
"The reality of it is they have to grow up too quickly and they lose out on a large part of their childhood, and that's why our programmes are so important," Ms Ahearn added.
The programmes are for the whole family and Mia Sheils attends each year with her older brother Teagan, who is 13 years old.
Today, the extended family, including her cousin Nikita, was having a look at all the activities on offer.
"We love it here, it's very fun," she said. "Its good for him because he loves canoeing and fishing," Mia said.
Sineád Smyth visited for the day to help with the fundraising efforts, along with her 15-year-old son Cian, who uses a wheelchair.
Both said they were delighted with how inclusive all the activities are.
"Cian can partake in lots of things, for example, the climbing wall, he's able to do the climbing wall with his sisters," she said.
"They have really good facilities for people in wheelchairs," said Cian, who explained that he was able to go "high enough!".