We are very fortunate at Barretstown to have the support of our Patrons & Ambassadors, each of whom champion the values of Barretstown, and help us to increase the awareness of the services we provide to the families who need us most.
Barretstown Ambassadors & Patrons
Patron - Ms. Sabina Coyne Higgins
``I feel very honoured and proud to be Patron of such a wonderful organisation which provides such vital life changing therapeutic programmes for children affected by serious illness and their families. A high point in 2021 was the return of Barretstown’s Residential Programmes in June and Outreach Programmes in hospitals across Ireland in August bringing much yearned for fun and magic back into the lives of so many campers who had been in isolation for far too long.
``Barretstown has an ambitious target to reach over 10,000 children and family members in 2022. I commend the hard work, innovation and commitment of the team and cannot thank them enough for the life-changing work that they do.” - Ms. Sabina Coyne Higgins
Medical Patron - Prof. Owen Smith
“Barretstown brings much needed fun and magic into the lives of seriously ill children, but that’s not all. It’s part of the patient care algorithm. It’s such a fantastic facility to have on our doorstep. The message needs to get across that what Barretstown does is an essential part of cancer treatment. It should be seen as a key component of the treatment plan.”
“Once a child is diagnosed with cancer, medicine does its best for them. Psycho-social well-being is critically important. If you are in the right psychosocial place you heal much quicker. Barretstown is a fantastic resource for psycho-social well-being to support cancer treatment. It is an exemplar for the delivery of psycho-social well-being. If you treat adolescents and young adults in an age appropriate environment, they heal much better.” - Professor Owen Smith
Keith Barry
Keith Barry is a world-renowned Mentalist, Magician & Subconscious Mind Specialist. As the world’s leading TV hypnotist, Mentalist and Brain Hacker, Keith has been blazing a trail across the globe for many years.
Keith joined Barretstown as an ambassador in 2023 and has been delighting campers with his magic on visits to camp recently.
Barry Keoghan
We were delighted to welcome Irish actor, Barry Keoghan to the Barretstown family in March 2022. Barry has starred in films such as Dunkirk and more recently in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Eternals and made his DC Films debut as The Joker in The Batman. With the help of some very special campers, Alex and Cal Moore, Barry launched our new Aladina Studios on March 11th 2022. Speaking about the studio launch, Barry said “Acting has always been an outlet for me, and I love it – which is why I’m so proud to come on board as an ambassador for Barretstown”. We look forward to working with Barry in 2022 and beyond.
Tadhg Beirne
Irish International, Lion and Munster Rugby star Tadhg Beirne joined Barretstown as Ambassador in 2021. Tadhg was instrumental in driving awareness and support for our Dublin Mountains Challenge event in May 2022 and after visiting our Brothers & Sisters camp recently said “To see the kids, how happy they were getting to do all these different activities, including the brothers and sisters of the sick children, was a special thing. The work Barretstown does is incredible.” We are hugely grateful to Tadhg for all of his support.
Kathryn Thomas
As one of Ireland’s most well known and loved Broadcasters, Kathryn Thomas hosts one of Ireland’s highest rating TV programme Operation Transformation on RTÉ One. For the past two years, Kathryn graced our screens to present No Place Like Home on RTÉ One which focused on Staycations across Ireland. She has also hosted Celebrity Operation Transformation and has presented one season of Ireland’s Fittest Family on RTÉ One. Previously she fronted the hit international series The Voice, for five seasons also on RTÉ One. Not happy just settling for our TV screens, she is also a regular on the radio airwaves. She often sits in for Ray D'Arcy on RTÉ Radio 1.
Gordon D'Arcy
Former Irish International, Lion and Leinster Rugby legend, Gordon D’Arcy has been an amazing long time Ambassador for Barretstown. Gordon has supported many Barretstown events over the years including campaigns and Galas and in 2021, Gordon embarked on a Tour de Provinces 850km cycling challenge throughout the four provinces of Ireland, in aid of Barretstown.
Mack Hansen
Irish International, and Connacht Rugby star Mack Hansen became involved with Barretstown in 2022, helping to raise the profile of our organisation, and encouraging more young people to become involved as volunteers.
Would you like to help support Barretstown?
We are always looking for new ambassadors to help us in spreading awareness for our programmes – if you are interested, please get in touch! Besides our Ambassadors & Patrons, we also have our network of Community Champions, who represent us across the country and bring Barretstown to people that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to engage with! Click the link below to find out more.