Kinsale school raises €25k for paralysed former student

Students from Kinsale Community School have raised €25,000 for a past pupil who suffered severe spinal injuries after falling from the roof of a nightclub in the town.

Ciara O’Brien, 18, who had only just received her Leaving Certificate from the school, was attending a party at The Moorings nightclub in Kinsale in August when the incident occurred.

It is understood she was on the roof in a restricted area when she fell three storeys and sustained spinal injuries.

The teenager was rushed to Cork University Hospital for treatment and was later airlifted to the specialist National Spinal Injuries Unit at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

She is currently undergoing treatment at the National Rehabilitation Clinic in Dun Laoghaire in Dublin Due to the serious nature of her injuries, Ciara is now a paraplegic and a full-time wheelchair user.

However, pupils at her former school have come together to help raise money to help Ciara and her family deal with her recovery and rehabilitation.

On Saturday morning, the entire school took part in a walk, which included her brother and sister. So far, the fundraising drive has raised some €25,000.

Ciara’s mother Pauline O’Brien said, since the accident occurred, the school immediately stepped in to say they would help the family in any way they could.

“They literally told me there and then that they would look after my other two children, that they would transfer them to and from school because they knew I was in the Mater Hospital for two and half weeks.”

“There and then they said: ‘Don’t worry about lunches. Lunches will be provided. Everyday, they will get in, they will get a hot lunch and a drink’. As a mum, that was just like I had won the Lotto,” she told Red FM.