In memory of beautiful Luke Byrne

Hello everybody,

Our dear friends, the Byrne/Farrel family, have been through the most tragic of events. Their friends and family were at a loss as to how they could help. It’s grand to support them emotionally at this sad time, but in chatting together, we decided we’d like to do something helpful in a more practical sort of way too.

On June 9th 2022, the unthinkable happened, and whilst driving home, Lorraine and her son Luke were involved in a traffic accident. This has left Lorraine in hospital for a long time; she has broken many bones, which are complex. Lorraine is doing fantastic under the circumstances but is still unable to walk unaided. She’s an hour away from home, so her family and friends travel an hour to see her and keep her spirits up (it was initially a two and half hour drive). Their son Luke tragically died at the scene. Lorraine was not even able to attend his funeral.

Luke was a beautiful seventeen-year-old man with his whole life ahead of him. His family, community and friends are all mourning his loss. The world seems less sunny without him and will leave a massive void in so many people’s hearts and lives.

The family have been amazing, as has their community! It’s been both inspiring and heartwarming to see. Anthony (Lorraine’s hubby and Luke's daddy) and Grace (Luke's sister) are dedicated to getting Lorraine home as soon as possible as she is the heart of the family and much needed there. They need time to recover together and to heal.

Anthony, Lorraine and Grace are the proudest and kindest people; nothing is too much trouble, and they would help absolutely anyone. They would part with their last penny to help someone. Well, now we feel it is our turn to help them in their hour of need and to try and raise some money to help out.

We have come up with a few ideas of identified needs, but this would depend on how much money we raise - see below.

Help with travelling and physiotherapy/medical costs, part of their garden could be converted into a memory garden for Luke where the family could go and reflect on the seventeen magical years they were lucky enough to have their remarkable son. Equipment would perhaps be valuable to Lorraine when she returns home to aid her recovery/rehabilitation.

What we could do depends on the number of forthcoming donations. So it’s tough to be more specific. Any assistance, I’m sure, would be most helpful at this time. Please give anything - a few quid from many soon mounts up. United we could make a real difference!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts from all of Ant, Lorraine and Grace’s friends