Children dress to impress for Little Blue Heroes Foundation

A GROUP of 60 children from Naionra Chaitlin Maude in Kiltalown, Tallaght, wore their best formal wear for a Valentine’s Day Ball on Tuesday, in aid of the Little Blue Heroes Foundation.

The naionra organised the event in aid of the foundation, which was set up by gardaí to support the families of seriously ill children, as one of their former pupils, Sean Óg Preston, is involved with it.

Sean Óg, from West Park, was made an honorary garda by the foundation in August 2021 at age two, and he proudly wore his uniform at the Valentine’s Day Ball.

The young boy was born with a heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning that the left side of his heart didn’t fully develop, and he only has one chamber that pumps blood in his heart.

The Preston family have been supported by the Little Blue Heroes Foundation since 2021, and as such, staff in the naionra have seen first-hand the impact their works has had.

Aisling Breathnach, manager of Naionra Chaitlin Maude, told The Echo: “We’re hugely proactive with parental involvement, so we were very involved with Sean Óg’s story from when he started with us.

“He’s a past pupil of the pre-school, his brother attends it now and his sister used to attend it, and they’re all on the same school campus now.

“The whole family is very much a part of the service.”

Ms Breathnach said the pre-school decided to raise money for the Little Blue Heroes Foundation because they knew it was a worthy cause, and at the time of going to print, €300 had been raised.

The fundraising day also allowed the children to have a fun and enjoyable Valentine’s celebration, where they donned their Sunday best.

“There was great excitement,” said Ms Breathnach. “We brought the four pre-school classes together, and there was lots of dancing, games, and requests for the DJ.

“There were lots of dickie bows, little suits, fabulous dresses, and formal wear. We had Irish songs and they were doing dance moves that would put us all to shame!”

Community gardaí from Tallaght Garda Station were also in attendance at the Valentine’s Ball, along with their colleague, Honorary Garda Preston.