Thanks for visiting our fundraising page.  A fund has been set up in Niall's memory to support CLIC Sargent. 

 

FOR INFORMATION ON NIALL'S AUCTION ON 6TH SEPTEMBER OR TO BUY TICKETS PLEASE CONTACT GRAEME MELLIS AT graeme.mellis@talktalk.net . HOSTED BY DR PHIL HAMMOND IT IS SURE TO BE A GREAT EVENING.

ALTERNATIVELY TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FROM WELLS RUGBY CLUB, HARTLEY'S KITCHEN BINEGAR, THE HUNTERS REST PRIDDY AND SOMERSET ANTIQUE CENTRE SHEPTON MALLET.

FOR UPDATES KEEP AN EYE ON THE MESSAGES ON THIS PAGE

Niall was a very special young man who throughout his battle never lost his love for life, his family and freinds, and 'doing the right thing'. His love for Rugby was legendary as anyone who competed with or against him would know. Win or lose, his main concern was that the game had been played in the right spirit and the result was fair! His view on life was much the same with his Playstation On-Line name being 'Deal with it 101' and his favourite saying being 'It is what it is'. Finally he lost his battle, having given all he could, as was his way. Everything he did during his brief and special time with us was magic.

 

Had it not been for his illness Niall would have been looking forward to starting University this Autumn. What he would have become, we will never know, but what is for certain is that he would have done everything in his power to make a difference.

 

The song says 'Only the Good Die Young', and in Niall's case this is so very true.

 

In August 2011, on returning from a 3 week Charity Trip to Sri Lanka, where he worked at Sam's Project, helping Tsunami and Flood victims, Niall was unwell, suspecting that he had picked up a bug on the trip.

 

Eventually, after several weeks of GP visits, an X-Ray showed a substantial growth in his pelvis. This was a traumatic time, and further tests showed that he was suffering from an extremely rare form of sarcoma which had spread to his liver, lungs and lymphatic system.

 

Initially it was touch and go, but Niall's inner strength, and the amazing care from Bristol Childrens Hospital pulled him through the first few weeks, and for a while he got his life back to a degree.

 

Niall was a sportsman with a passion for Rugby and was developing as an excellent player in the 'armed' sport of Hockey, where he controlled the defence, leaving the forwards to take the glory.

 

When diagnosed, he had to give up playing the sports he loved, but continued his involvement with Rugby as an Assistant Coach for Wells Cathedral School First Team, specializing in the technical side of the scrum and lineout.

 

Throughout everything Niall never lost his positivity, and was always there for family and friends who were struggling with the situation. He knew that he did not have a lot of time left, but as was his way he accepted it with courage and grace, and never stopped thinking of others.

 

An illustration of Niall's impact on other peoples lives was his funeral at Wells Cathedral. There were 520 people in the Cathedral and many more outside, each of whom had been touched in some way by his presence. People from the School, his Rugby Clubs, and from the wider community came together to celebrate the wonderful life of a special young man whose life was cut short long before his full potential could be realised.

 

In Niall's memory, and to give back to those who gave so much we will be holding special events which will be detailed elsewhere on this page.

  

All contributions to this fund will go to support the work of CLIC Sargent; Every day 10 families are told their child has cancer. CLIC Sargent is the only organisation to offer them all round care and support. They are the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people, and their families. We provide clinical, practical and emotional support to help them cope with cancer and get the most out of life. For more information, please visit www.clicsargent.org.uk.

 

Thank you very much for your support.

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.