Fionnuala's new space

20/04/2022

OOPS. Somehow in all the crazy busyness of the last couple of months I've not managed to update this, I am very sorry about that.

well the big news is...... WE HAVE MOVED IN!!!! Fionnuala's new space is now part of our home. we are still setting things up exactly as we need them to function most efficiently for Fionnuala's needs but the main thing is that we are in and absolutely loving the extra space.

We managed to move in early March but with getting everything sorted and then a trio of horrible head colds (one each in turn) followed by Covid (thankfully just Liam and me, not Fionnuala) meant that I didn't get chance to let everyone know.

We are so immensely grateful for all the donations, all the support and all the help we have received over the last year. It means more than we could ever say.

I will put a few pictures up soon to give you an idea of how it all looks, but there won't be many more updates on this page. So simply, thank you all

13/02/2022

Fionnuala hasn't been able to see much of her new space yet with all the work going on, but we were able to get her in today for a wee peek. Here she is checking out her new sensory room.

13/02/2022

We've not had much to show you all lately, but there's still been lots happening :) And now we have our gorgeous new doors, architrave and skirting all in place! Huge thanks to Nicky Laura and all at EZ Doors for their extremely generous support of our project. Immense thanks to John McGivney for all the time he has put into getting us to this stage. Now the cleaning up begins 😫😫😫😫 but once that is done then the final painting can happen and then....... moving in!!!!!!!

11/01/2022

And just like that the floors are finished! This gorgeous flooring was all supplied by EZ Doors and fitted by Fionnuala's uncle and Daddy 😀 we are getting ever closer to moving in 😁😁😁

06/01/2022

Should hopefully be on LMFM around 3.20ish this afternoon (Thursday 6th) to talk about Fionnuala's new space and what it means for us

06/01/2022

Happy New Year!!! 2022 for us has started well, with progress continuing on our build. We've had tiling done the last couple of days, with the hall floor and bathroom walls and floor done. These are all setting nicely and the plan is to get the bedrooms and sensory room floors laid this weekend. Moving in day is feeling very close now :)

24/12/2021

Its Christmas Eve. Its been an amazing few months here and in a few more weeks we will be moving into the beautiful new space that has been created through the hard work and kindness of so many people. My heart is too full to adequately express how much everything people have done and all that has been donated means to us, so I will just say, on behalf of Liam, Fionnuala and myself, a huge thank you all, and may you and all those you love have a peaceful safe and Merry Christmas.

23/12/2021

I have said many times over the course of the last few months how incredible it has been to see all the support for Fionnuala's new space. We have been constantly amazed by it.

The level of support - in so many ways - from our local community here in and around Oldcastle has been truly moving. I've said before that Oldcastle should be very proud of itself as a community for the way they have helped us. I was delighted to get that message into a national newspaper too.

'It’s like an Oldcastle version of that RTE SOS show. The kindness shown to us has been phenomenal'

23/12/2021

We are so delighted to be able to publicly thank everyone who has worked on Fionnuala's new space, and especially to thank Michael Hetherton without whom it simply would not have happened.

https://www.lmfm.ie/news/scene-and-heard/christmas-miracle-as-tradesmen-rally-around-for-new-build-for-teen/?fbclid=IwAR3d8nevMKRMViTPLmzjY8qqqHGeiD99oralYPKbPRhgDpQMm0x3ThDSL10

​​​​​​​The mother of a teenager with a rare neurological condition has described as a 'Christmas miracle' how a community volunteered their time and materials into a much needed building project for their daughter.

23/12/2021

Look what Fionnuala was given this week :) This fabulous stickman was made by Jim Mckenna as a gift to Fionnuala to celebrate her new space being nearly ready for us to move into. She will love seeing and hearing the birds come to feed at it and will get so much pleasure from the sound of the boomwhackers (they are the coloured tubes). Such an incredibly thoughtful and considerate gift. Thank you so much Jim.

17/12/2021

Hello!! Sorry there's been no updates for a wee while cos there's not been much to report. The outside plastering and groundwork is completely finished now and the whole building looks very neat.

BUT this week we had another big step forward when the hoist was installed :) For anyone not familiar with this, we use a hoist to lift Fionnuala in and out of bed and to transfer to her wheelchair. However the hoist system we have at present is very limited and only allows us to transfer her in one spot. This fabulous new system is top of the range and will allow us to transfer Fionnuala between her bedroom and bathroom and at any point in either of those rooms. It will make lifting and moving her around much easier and safer for all of us. We are really thrilled with it.

29/11/2021

A few weeks ago we got the chance to have a wee video made to tell our story and hopefully reach a wider audience. This is the final result. We are very happy with it and very grateful to everyone involved. I know all of you who follow this page have supported us in so many ways, but I thought you might like to see Fionnuala too :) If anyone wanted to share, please feel free to share to any social media platform you choose (I think its probably easiest if you share it directly from YouTube as there are links already built into do so).

Fionnuala is 14 years old. She lives with her parents Tracey and Liam near Oldcastle in County Meath, Ireland. This is their story. If this story resonates w...