On Sunday, 16th July, well-known Irish personalities joined thousands of visitors at Barretstown for a magical day of adventure at the annual Barretstown Big Picnic.
Barretstown is Ireland’s largest children’s charity providing life-changing therapeutic programmes to children affected by cancer and other serious illnesses. This special event in association with Brady Family aims to raise vital funds for the charity while allowing visitors to experience the unique magic of the residential camp.
The Castle gates opened for an action-packed day of summer fun with visitors enjoying a host of exciting events and activities including the spectacular Fossett's Circus, magicians, trapeze artists, face-painting, music, dance and much more!
Well-known personalities spotted enjoying the festivities with their families included TV personalities Brian Dowling and Arthur Gourounlian; model and broadcaster Glenda Gilson; 2FM presenter and Dancing with the Stars winner Carl Mullan; Rugby star Gordon D’Arcy; GAA legends Lee Keegan, ormPadraig O’Hora, Bríd Stack and Lindsay Peat; as well as model Sarah Morrissey and her former footballer husband Pat Jennings Jr.
Visitors were also given the opportunity to tour the Barretstown facilities and meet staff and volunteers to witness first-hand the life-changing work carried out by the specialised on-site teams.
Commenting, Barretstown CEO Dee Ahearn said:“On behalf of all the team at Barretstown, I would like to sincerely thank all those who attended our annual Big Picnic. Special events such as this provide a unique opportunity to highlight the vital work carried out by Barretstown to support children affected by cancer and other serious illnesses, while demonstrating why continued support is so important to underpin the delivery of our life-changing therapeutic programmes."
“This year, we will serve over 17,000 campers through our Residential Programmes at Barretstown and Outreach Programmes in hospitals across Ireland. Hospitals treat the illness, Barretstown treats the child and plays a key role in helping each child suffering from a serious illness to rebuild emotionally, mentally, and physically”
For more information or to learn how you can support Barretstown visit www.barretstown.org
Slán go fóill.