Cancer battler oisin in lord of the rings
The cancer ward at Crumlin Children’s Hospital is populated by young heroes, each fighting their way back to health. Thanks to children’s cancer charity Aoibheann’s Pink Tie, they are being framed in their own dream superhero moment back home.
Westport lad Oisin Kennedy was joined by his brother Naoise ‘on set’ as Froddo and Sam in Lord of the Rings in a project run by the charity called Picnominate.
Oisin, who is son of Alan and Olga Kennedy, Carrabaun, was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his head in 2012, when he was eight. Following treatment at Mayo General Hospital and then Crumlin Hospital, he is now cancer clear but undergoing regular monitoring.
Christy Dunne from Dunboyne and his business partner Conor Brady became involved with the project as a result of their friendship with Aoibheann’s Pink Tie founder Jimmy Norman, who established the charity in 2010 after he lost his beloved daughter Aoibheann.
Picnominate came about after taking some ‘positive inspiration’ from the negative Neknominate craze. It sees Christy and Conor travelling all over the country installing murals in children’s bedrooms featuring the kids in superhero mode.
They contact parents whose child has been nominated and after getting room dimensions and hearing what the kids like, and getting their imaginative input, they design a mural for each child from scratch. Young Oisin had compared his own battle with cancer to the journey undertaken in Lord of the Rings by Froddo and Sam. His mural, in which his brother also stars, was delivered just before Easter.
The murals are printed on a high quality vinyl, laminated and attached to the wall, so they are easily cleaned and can be moved without damaging the wall.
This latest mural in Westport was the 80th bedroom ‘decorated’ for Aoibheann’s Pink Tie, and the fourth in Mayo. If you have been a visitor to Mayo General Hospital you are probably already familiar with Christy and Conor’s work as they completed murals on two wards at the hospital last September and October.
Aoibheann’s Pink Tie volunteers help families of children with cancer in many ways – respite weekends, trips to concerts, emergency overnight bags for unplanned hospital stays, food hampers, financial support, even superhero outfits. They want no parent to feel alone and want to hold their hand while they walk the walk that is cancer.
Aoibheann’s Pink Tie is on Facebook, and you can find information there about the charity and donations, or see www.aoibheannspinktie.ie.