Press Release

Mayor co-hosts charity event on board LE EITHNE

14th December 2005

Mayor, Councillor Lynn Fleming will welcome the Irish Navy vessel, LE Eithne, to Derry on a return visit this weekend. This pre-Christmas visit will provide a unique opportunity for both the city’s Mayor and Commander Mark Mellett to host a reception to raise awareness of two deserving organisations, the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children and Our Lady’s Children Hospital, Crumlin, in Dublin.

The Mayor has chosen the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children as her appointed charity for her year in office and LE Eithne has a unique twinning partnership with Our Lady’s Children Hospital, Crumlin, in Dublin, which enables them to host visits onboard for sick children and their families.

Speaking on the forthcoming visit, Mayor, Councillor Lynn Fleming said she was delighted to be involved in such a unique event. “The visit by the LE Eithne this weekend, will not only raise awareness for both organisations and raise much needed funds; but it will also facilitate developing relationships and networks within the medical sector on a North-South basis. We are also looking forward to welcoming representatives from Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Dublin and our friends from Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children at this festive time,” she said.

The Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children’s President, Lady Moyra Campbell, said: “We were really delighted when the Mayor informed us she was going to adopt our organisation as her charity for the year. This event onboard LE Eithne is very exciting, as it will enable us to welcome some of our families onboard for a fun day, as well as host a reception for people who have been involved in helping us to promote the work of the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.”

LE Eithne will berth at Queen’s Quay from Saturday, December 17 until Monday, December 19. During their stay, the Ship’s Company will welcome a number of families with sick children onboard and co-host a reception with the Mayor, as well as have Open Ship for visitors on Sunday, December 18.

Commander Mark Mellett said he was looking forward to returning to Derry. “We have been made extremely welcome on our previous calls to your city and look forward to visiting for this important event. Over the past year the crew of LE Eithne have been overwhelmed by the dignity and unconditional courage of children suffering from serious ailments particularly in the areas of cardiac and oncology. We are delighted to help in raising awareness in the strength of these little warriors and we are back in Derry to assist the Mayor in doing just that,” he said.

Ms Geraldine Regan, Director of Nursing at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin said: “We are very excited about this event which will provide us with the unique opportunity to meet with health officials in Derry and throughout the North. Already Our Lady’s has excellent collaborative arrangements with Altnagelvin and Royal Belfast Children’s Hospitals. These arrangements continue to improve caring for sick children all over Ireland. Our Lady’s particularly wishes to thank the Mayor of Derry and Cdr Mark Mellett and his crew for their ongoing generous support to the hospital. They have provided great excitement and entertainment for our children and families. The ongoing commitment by the naval personnel and recruit classes in helping children's wards around the country is greatly appreciated.”

Notes to Editor:

The LE Eithne will be berthed at Queen’s Quay from Saturday at 09.00am, December 17 through to Monday afternoon, December 19.

It will be open for public visits on Sunday, December 18 from 12noon – 4.30pm.

LE Eithne is the Irish Navy flagship and they have a twinning arrangement with Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children. This is LE Eithne’s third visit to the city. The Mayor and Commander Mark Mellett agreed to host this event during their previous visit to Derry in September on the occasion of European Heritage Week.

Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children Crumlin is an acute paediatric teaching hospital with 236 beds, employing 1200 staff. It is Republic of Ireland's largest paediatric hospital and is responsible for the provision of the majority of tertiary care services for children and medical research for childhood illnesses. It is the national referral centre for paediatric cardiac surgery and childhood cancers.

www.olhsc.ie

The Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children is a registered Charity, which offers practical support to children, and young people up to and including the age of 21, who have been diagnosed with cancer, and their families. In order to support services, a constant and varied programme of fundraising is ongoing throughout the year. Many volunteers join NICFC Support Groups around Northern Ireland to raise much needed money and have some fun all at the same time. We are proud to say that all funds raised in Northern Ireland, stay in Northern Ireland to help children from all over the Province.

www.nicfc.org

For further information, please contact Aideen Corr, Tel 028 71 376 505 or email cruise@derrycity.gov.uk

For additional information contact:

Press Office

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