Meet Fióna
Childhood cancer entered Sarah’s life a little over a year ago.
It began with something as ordinary as changing her baby’s clothes — a simple, everyday task for any parent.
But that day, for the first time, Sarah noticed a series of tiny lumps that hadn’t been there before.
Although she had a medical background, it was a moment that would have made any mother or father stop.
Something about it just felt wrong.
Watch Fióna's Story
The Hardest News
The O'Reilly family were in the middle of a long-awaited move to their new home in the countryside.
They were still sleeping on mattresses on the floor of their new house — a time that should have been filled with excitement and plans for the future — when those strange little lumps appeared.
Fióna was just 14 months old, a baby with no symptoms. Still, Sarah brought her to the GP.
They talked through a plan for medication and follow-up, but at the last moment, Sarah turned back and asked if they could have a specialist referral that same day.
Within a week, an ultrasound, MRI, and biopsy confirmed what they never could have imagined: their little girl had an aggressive form of soft tissue cancer.
This Christmas, please consider giving €25, €50, or even €100, so that another family like Sarah’s can experience the healing magic of Barretstown’s Camps and outreach programmes in the year ahead.
When Everything Changed
Sarah hadn’t slept in two nights. In the hospital, she remembered holding Fióna close, whispering to her over and over, “please don’t die, please don’t die.”
A diagnosis of childhood cancer or another serious illness can happen to any family. Sometimes there are warning signs — and sometimes, as with little Fióna, there are almost none.
The tiny lumps were the tip of the iceberg to a ten-centimetre tumour inside her little body.
Life In Isolation
Fióna was scheduled for six high-intensity chemotherapy cycles and another six maintenance cycles over the course of a year.
Sarah can never forget the consultant’s look when she mentioned having the chemotherapy guidelines on her phone — gentle concern in his eyes, as if to say, cancer doesn’t always follow your rules. He was right.
Chemotherapy left Fióna’s world so small.
She spiked fever after fever and had to isolate from family, friends, and other children to avoid any risk of infection — even, at times, from Oisín, the big brother she adored.
Sarah and Simon were exhausted. One day, Simon asked quietly, “Can a child die from chemotherapy?” Fióna was so sick from the very treatment meant to make her well.
“Barretstown is as important as the chemotherapy we give kids and adolescents with cancer. It’s as important as the care given by nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals. I consider Barretstown a key pillar in how we deliver inclusive comprehensive cancer care to our children and young people in Ireland”
— Prof Owen Smith, Medical Patron
Kind Gifts Like Yours
During those long, endless hospital months, Sarah had brief, comforting chats with the Barretstown Outreach Team, but it all felt like a blur. She thought Fióna was too small, too fragile, for camp.
Even Oisín struggled to believe it at first. “Is this Nanny’s house… or really holidays?” he asked, unsure if it could be real. Families like theirs rarely dare to dream — always worried about hospitals, emergencies, or what might go wrong. Barretstown gives them more than a break; it gives them space to breathe, to hope, and to just be a family again.
It costs around €1,600 to give a family like Sarah’s a weekend of healing and hope at Barretstown — and gifts of all sizes help make it possible.
Fizzing With Excitement
By the time the O'Reilly family arrived at camp, Fióna and Oisin were bursting with excitement. Everything at Barretstown is designed for Children — from bunk beds in the cottages to early-morning activities for little risers, even chalk drawings on the walkways.
Fióna and Oisín were up for everything.
For Fióna's parents, camp offered more than fun. Away from the daily worries of illness and treatment, they could finally pause and see their children clearly. It was there they realized Oisín wasn’t quite ready for big school and decided to keep him back another year — a decision they wouldn’t have been able to make without this space to breathe.
Creche and Christmas
Every moment at Barretstown makes a difference, but for Sarah and Simon, for little Fióna, there was one activity that showed them the true power of the healing magic they had received.
The youngest campers, like Fióna, have independent playtime at the Barretstown creche. Children who may not have been separated from their parents in months are gently guided by Caras — trained volunteers who help each child feel safe and at ease. It may seem small, but Fióna hadn’t been to creche since her cancer diagnosis turned their lives upside down.
Sarah and Simon pressed their faces to the window, arms around each other, just out of Fióna’s sight. All the emotions of the past year poured out. Tears streamed down their faces as they watched their little girl smile and play — safe, happy, and wrapped in the healing magic of Barretstown.
Hear from the O'Reilly’s - Sarah, Simon, Oisín and Fióna
Barretstown gave Sarah and Simon’s daughter, Fióna, the chance to simply be a child again. After months of exhausting treatment for aggressive soft tissue cancer, the kindness of Barretstown supporters brought back laughter, friendship, and a sense of normal life their family had missed for so long.
Now, as Fióna rings the bell to mark her final chemotherapy, hope fills their hearts — even as the journey continues. She’ll be monitored for years to come, and healing will take time. That’s why Sarah is so grateful for Barretstown, and for everyone who helps make its magic possible for families like hers.
The O'Reilly's LetterSprinkle a Little Magic
Your support for Barretstown will give another seriously ill child like Marlie the chance to experience Barretstown's life changing Therapeutic Programmes.
Barretstown offers free , specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with a serious illness - supported behind the scenes by 24 hour on site medical and nursing care.
"Our little Marlie had five surgeries in the space of a month... without Barretstown, I don't know how we'd have coped"Jenny, Marlie's Mum
Sprinkle a Little Magic
Your support for Barretstown will give another seriously ill child like Marlie the chance to experience Barretstown's life changing Therapeutic Programmes.
Barretstown offers free , specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with a serious illness - supported behind the scenes by 24 hour on site medical and nursing care.
€10 million
Needed in fundraising for 2025
More than 125,000
Campers Served
14
Illness Groups Served
Barretstown is a registered charity (CHY10715) in Ireland, RCN 20027759 and is also a registered charity in the UK (Charity No. 1046648) and a registered charity in Spain (Registration No. 28-1373 and NIF G84459064).