YOUNG organ donation campaigner Dáithí Mac Gabhann was a guest of the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins at a garden party held at Áras an Uachtaráin over the weekend.
The Mac Gabhann family pictured with President Michael D Higgins at the Family Day Garden Party (Pics: Mac Gabhann family)The eight-year-old, who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, was among the special guests for the Family Day party on June 29.
It is thought to be one of the last few garden parties that will be hosted by the President before he completes his term in November.
Awaiting a heart transplant since January 2018, Dáithí and his Belfast-based family have successfully campaigned to change the law around organ donation in Northern Ireland to a soft opt-out system.
President Michael D Higgins meets Dáithí Mac Gabhann at the Family Day Garden Party (Pics: Mac Gabhann family)Named in his honour, Dáithí’s Law came into effect on June 1, 2023.
Their successful Donate4Dáithí campaign was celebrated at the party, where President Higgins paid tribute to Dáithí in his speech.
“It’s hard to put into words how proud we are to have been invited to Áras an Uachtaráin,” Dáithí’s dad Máirtín Mac Gabhann, who is the spokesperson for the campaign, told The Irish Post.
“To stand there, as a family, representing our campaign, and to hear President Higgins acknowledge Dáithí, the campaign, and the law change in his speech, we were blown away,” he added.
“We’ve always said this campaign is about community, compassion and change,” he explained.
“[This] was a reminder that if any campaign or cause keeps going; that even the smallest of voices can be heard all the way to the highest office in the country.”
President Higgins praised Dáithí Mac Gabhann’s campaign at the eventEach year, President Higgins and wife Sabina have hosted a series of garden parties to celebrate the work of people and organisations who have been active in projects and areas that are central to his presidency.
The parties continue a tradition established by past presidents, which welcomes people from all over the island of Ireland to Áras an Uachtaráin, its house and gardens.