A birthday wish come true for louise
Sean McMahon
More than four years after she had a brain tumour removed, a brave 21-year-old girl from Cavan Town realised her her birthday wish when she presented more than €15,000 to the charity that helped her through one of the most difficult times in her life. Louise Johnston from Kilnavara, the daughter of Pauline and Bernard, and sister of GAA star Sean Johnston, hosted a social and presentation to Barretstown House in McMahon’s Bar last month instead of a traditional 21st birthday party. It was the culmination of a number of fundraisers in recent years to raise the money for County Kildare-based charity.
After suffering headaches for months, it was a scan in early 2010 that diagnosed Louise’s tumour. Then a student in Loreto College, Louise had the tumour removed in Beaumont hospital in January 2010 in an operation that took up to five hours. After her physical recovery, and in the summer of that year, she spent ten days in Barretstown House.
“My self confidence was very low and after the ten days I spent at Barretstown, I just emerged from there as a different person – it was just such a fantastic experience,” she said.
In addition to fundraising, Louise has been a regular volunteer at Barretstown over the last couple of years as she just wanted to “give something back” and “help other young people who have been diagnosed”.
In the coming weeks, she will again volunteer for the family camp there, where she will be assigned to look after a family for a weekend and take care of all their needs. “It allows them to get a break from their everyday lives. It can be extremely tough being in and out of hospital. It is aimed at giving them a break,” she explained.
“It is really nice to be able to talk to the parents. The first weekend I met them, their little girl had been diagnosed a short time beforehand. She was extremely sick and it was just nice to be able to tell them what Barretstown does and the impact it will have on her life,” said Louise.
On a personal level, Louise says she’s “doing great now” and in her final year studying Music and Irish in NUI Maynooth.
Presentation
A total of €15,508.21 was presented by Louise to Barretstown at the event in McMahon’s Bar, Cavan, on September 6.
The Highstool Prophets band provided the entertainment on the night and three men volunteered to be waxed and they had raised a considerable sum of money. They were Cian Donohoe, Paul O’Connor and Alan Clancy.
Louise also had a Text Donation line in operation and when people sent a text to a designated number, €2 was donated to Barretstown and that alone realised €2,000 for the cause. There was a raffle on the night and Louise said she was delighted with the fact that over €1,700 was raised from that.
She also had an online donation page on the mycharity.ie website, which generated the majority of the funds.
“I did not expect people to be so generous on the night, as so many donations had been taken in prior to that,” she said, thanking all of those who had supporter her and the cause.
A word of thanks from Louise
“Four months ago, I had a 21st birthday wish - to raise as much money as possible in the hope that more young people diagnosed with serious illnesses could experience the magic of Barretstown. I can now say that my birthday wish was well and truly granted! I would just like to give a special mention to Philip and Caroline McMahon who showed such generosity and support throughout the entire campaign. Also to Donal Keogan for his very generous donation. Also thank you to The Highstool Prophets, M and M photography and Niall O’Riordan. To everyone who sponsored raffle prizes for the night, this was hugely successful and I am very grateful. And finally, I wish to thank every one of you for your incredible generosity. The donations received will go a very long way in helping young people experience the magic of Barretstown just like I did in recent years. None of this would have been possible without you.”