Tramore Tidy Towns raise crucial funds for young girl undergoing bone marrow transplant
Emma Flynn, who is receiving treatment in Holland after undergoing a bone marrow transplant.
Tramore Tidy Towns gathered the community together to help a young girl in need of serious medical help.
The committee held a coffee morning in aid of 10-year-old Emma Flynn, a local girl with rare condition Idiopathic Aplastic Anaemia, or bone marrow failure.
Emma was diagnosed with the condition at Crumlin Children's Hospital on her 10th birthday.
Her brother, Billy, aged 11, was found to be an identical bone marrow donor. However, Emma had to travel to Utreacht, in the Netherlands, for the bone marrow transplant as the procedure could not be done here in Ireland.
According to the family's post on GoFundMe: "There are no hospitals in Ireland that do them for children."
Emma has been unable to attend school since February this year and her mother Edwina has had to give up work to be her full-time carer. The post stated: "The repeated trips to Dublin and unexpected stays are financially taxing on the family i.e. hotel stays and travelling expenses."
The family were planning to go to The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, Scotland, for the transplant surgery but unfortunately the hospital was unable to accept Emma.
Emma has been receiving treatment, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, in Holland since early June and underwent the transplant procedure thanks to her brother Billy's cells.
She will have to stay in Holland for the next six weeks in hospital to receive care, followed by another six weeks living nearby to the hospital before hopefully returning back to Ireland. She will then have to attend Crumlin twice a week for regular check-ups.
Happily, as of July 7, 2025, her white cell count is rising, indicating that Billy's cells are starting to work.
Tramore Tidy Towns held a coffee morning at Raglan Road in aid of Emma and her family and raised €840. The committee do huge work in keeping Tramore lovely and litter-free.
Member Annette McNeill was elated with the response.
"It was absolutely delightful, we were delighted to see how many people turned out for the coffee morning.
"It was Tramore Tidy Towns' first coffee morning, we didn't know what to expect or how many people would show up!"
Seeing the pictures taken by Joe Evans it is clear that the community stepped up to come out and give support to the Flynn family.
