Longford Go Yellow quartet on shortlist for Irish Red Cross Young Humanitarian of the Year Award

Go Yellow! is a fundraiser in aid of Children’s Health Ireland and the National Maternity Hospital by students in Meán Scoil Mhuire in Longford and they have just been unveiled as a finalist for the Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Award which takes place in Dublin next Tuesday, May 14.

The Meán Scoil Mhuire students - Maria McGlynn, Head of Fundraising, Aoibheann Brennan-Grennan, Vice-Head of Fundraising, Shauna Nolan, Head of IT and Advertising and Ava Finneran, Secretary - decided to take on this task due to their head of fundraising’s own twin brothers being born at just 24 weeks.

Both boys, Edward and Patrick McGlynn who are pupils at Melview National School, were described as medical miracles and are now 12 years old and still frequent fliers of Temple Street and Crumlin Hospitals.

The girls who are all in transition year created fundraising packs and an educational talk to give to schools who register for go yellow and they have selflessly dedicated their own personal time and resources to get their campaign off the ground.

The girls have brought their marketing a long way having been endorsed by The Independent newspaper, NiaGall a local viral TikTok star, IRadio, Elisha Stokes a professional Makeup Artist who has a huge following on Instagram and works for Ireland AM, TD Joe Flaherty and are currently in talks with RTE and TG4 to have their ADs ran on their programmes. They have also been invited to the Dáil to speak on their campaign.

The girls are celebrated throughout their local community for their incredible work and service to both their own commitments to their communities through county football, representing Ireland in swimming and another representing Ireland in singing, volunteering in special Olympics a charity which aims to teach people with Down syndrome and other disabilities how to swim and now with this on their roster the girls have become beacons of shining hope for the next generation of young girls in impoverished communities such as Longford Town.

Deirdre Garvey Secretary General for the Irish Red Cross said, “The aim of the Irish Red Cross Awards is to highlight the incredible and selfless efforts of people throughout Ireland who have gone out of their way to help those in urgent need – regardless of whether they are fleeing war or are struggling to cope within their own local community.  We feel strongly that in this age of increasing conflict and devastation be it natural or man-made, we all need to focus squarely on the crucial need for unity, humanity, impartial support and volunteer service in aid of others.”

Also read: Longford urged to ‘Go Yellow’ on May 1

The prestigious annual Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards will honour nominated finalists across five categories in addition to the Humanitarian Award. The awards recognise those who have had a positive impact on the lives of others by improving lives and reducing suffering.  The aim of the Award is to highlight the efforts of those who have given a voice to these humanitarian issues.  www.irchumanitarianawards.ie

For more information, visit www.irchumanitarianawards.ie or follow the Irish Red Cross on LinkedIN, Instagram (@irishredcross), Twitter (@irishredcross) or Facebook.