Community still remembering baby Emma with €47k raised!
FIVE years on from the tragic passing of their baby daughter Emma at just four months old, Fergus and Carol Heffernan are as devoted as ever to raising funds for the Jack & Jill Foundation and after enlisting the overwhelming support of the Oylegate Glenbrien community, they have raised over €47,000 in their daughter’s memory.
Born in July 2013, baby Emma’s life was tragically cut short following complications.
‘We didn’t know until Emma was born that there was any problem,’ said mum Carol. ‘After she was born, we found out she had a problem with her brain and she was rushed to Dublin. When we got there, we were pretty much told that unfortunately there wasn’t much they could do for her and we were sent back to Wexford.’
It was at this point that the Jack & Jill Foundation played a major role in ensuring that Carol and Fergus had the chance to make the most of their short time with their daughter.
‘Jack & Jill actually approached us to help,’ Carol said. ‘ They helped us to get her home. Our son Billy was only three at the time, so it made a huge difference. They provided funding for a nurse to come in and take care of Emma at night for the eight weeks she was at home with us.’
The support of the foundation was something that Carol and Fergus never forgot and from that moment on they set about raising funds and awareness for Jack & Jill.
‘Basically, we wanted to remember Emma and to help other families in similar situations,’ said Carol. ‘We started holding some fundraising events like a couple of runs and selling Jack & Jill Christmas cards and things like that. Both parishes of Glenbrien, where we live, and Oylegate have been absolutely wonderful and have always been on board with any fundraising we do.
‘ They even come to me with ideas and I think it’s their way of remembering Emma and keeping her memory alive as well.’
Five years on and the family has raised over €47,000 for the cause. This year, to mark Emma’s 5th anniversary, they organised a climb of Mount Leinster which raised €5,116 itself. Neighbour Lorraine Fortune, who is a member of the defence forces, carried her backpack up the mountain and raised €500 of this herself.
As well as this, the Kavanagh family at the Slaney Inn in Oylegate raised over €2,400 by donating the profits of their €5 bingo page and also held a breakfast morning at their new restaurant. Also this year, the communion class at Oylegate National School donated some of their communion money to the cause, raising a further €180 in Emma’s memory.
All of this is real tangible evidence that community spirit is alive and well. The communities of Oylegate and Glenbrien have pulled together to support the efforts of one of their own and to remember a little one, taken much too soon. It is something that both Carol and Fergus are eternally grateful for and they hope to continue their work to help other families who find themselves in similarly tragic situations.