Tipperary mum raises over €11,500 for Cystic Fibrosis charity in memory of son

A Thurles mum has raised over €11,500 for a Cystic Fibrosis charity in honour of her son, Brian Maher Jnr, who passed away from the disease in 2017.

Over a number of months Fiona Coppinger and her ‘Breathless for Brian’ teammates worked tirelessly to raise as much funds as possible for TLC4CF (Tipperary, Limerick, Clare for Cystic Fibrosis) starting with a hugely successful GoFundMe page which reached €4,000 within a matter of weeks, nearly surpassing the original €5,000 target in one fundraising event alone. Next up was a mammoth bucket collection held in Thurles which again hit the €4,000 mark in a single day.

“A lot of Brian’s friends from school and college came along to help that day. It meant a lot to us all,” Fiona tells the Tipperary Star.

Pic: The Breathless for Brian crew at the VHI Women's mini marathon in June

Finally the Breathless for Brian crew hit the pavement once more, quickly earning the remainder of their fundraising through sponsorship as they embarked on the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon last June in memory of the popular Mary I student.
Fiona says the mini marathon was particularly poignant as Brian had intended on completing a marathon after his double lung transplant in 2015.

“He was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was three and in 2015 he underwent a double lung transplant. After the operation he told me he wanted to do a marathon but he never got round to it so it was particularly special that we did it for him,” she says.

Throughout the fundraising efforts Fiona says the entire family was blown away by the generosity of the public with offers of sponsorship coming in from far and wide.

“There was one gesture I’ll always remember,” she says, recalling a Confirmation class from a school in Dublin who donated over €260 after seeing the appeal on social media.

“Their teacher was from Thurles and some of the class had wanted to donate some of their Confirmation money to charity so he came down on the Saturday we had the bucket collection and handed over the money on behalf of the children. Scoil Aonghusa held a cake sale for us, as did staff in Saint Joseph’s Hospital Clonmel and Lloyds Pharmacy also held a bucket collection for us,” she says.

All money raised by the Breathless for Brian fund will be invested in the Cystic Fibrosis unit at University Hospital Limerick where Brian received treatment.

In 2012, a new Adult Cystic Fibrosis unit was opened in the hospital following successful fundraising by TLC4CF. Having spent months at a time in the hospital while growing up, Brian’s expertise was called upon when kitting out the nine bedroom wing.

"Brian loved a cup of hot chocolate, recalls his mum Fiona fondly, “but when he was in isolation he had to wait on family and friends to bring these things to him. That’s why he was adamant that a small kitchenette was a vital design point for each room. It gave patients that bit of freedom and comfort that they could boil a kettle or put on a slice of toast if they wanted it,” she says.

“Brian always wanted to go to college and his dream was to go into teaching. I remember just days after his transplant operation I found him filling out his CAO form. That was the kind of person he was, so determined and positive.”

Brian's determination to succeed saw him earn a place at Mary Immaculate College where he excelled at his school work and saw him make bundles of friends everywhere he went.

Sadly Brian's health began to deteriorate and he passed away in February 2017. During a memorial Mass for past pupils in Mary I, Brian's family were presented with a framed degree by the college which Fiona says now takes pride of place on the sitting room wall.

“People were so good to us and really went above and beyond to help. I know Brian would be incredibly proud of the amount we raised and how much it will help fellow Cystic Fibrosis patients in the country,” she says.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Brian's family wish to sincerely thank all those who helped fundraise, donated or offered their support to the Breathless for Brian campaign.

Special thanks to Erin Sugrue from the TLC4CF Committee for her help and support over the months running up to the marathon, Sharon Cronin and the staff at Scoil Aonghusa in Cashel, Darren O Neil and the pupils of St Michael’s Junior College, Dublin, Margaret O Donnell and the staff of Saint Joseph’s Hospital Clonmel, staff in Lloyds Pharmacy Thurles, all those who kindly took sponsorship cards and Thurles Garda Sìochana for our bucket collection permit.

I personally would like to thank the team for giving up their time and energy to this great cause and supporting me on what was an emotional experience but an enjoyable and worthy one. And finally again to everyone who donated so generously and supported us in our fundraising event which not only will help support people with Cystic Fibrosis but it also allowed me to keep Brian’s memory alive and meaningful.

Thank you, Fiona