Autism Heroes annual gala in Carlow was another fantastic success
At the Autism Heroes gala dinner in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel were Louise Burnett, Triona Kirwan, Catriona Kirwan, Dylan Thomas, John Murphy, Eileen Doyle, Annette Fox and Kathleen O'Connor Photos: michaelorourkephotography.ie
ON Saturday 28 March, Autism Heroes hosted its third annual gala in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel in Carlow town.
Autism Heroes is an organisation, based in Carlow, which supports families affected by autism by providing funding for autism supports in the community.
While the gala is technically a fundraiser, Autism Heroes founder Louise Moran Burnett said: “The gala is more about what people learn when they are in that room.”
This year’s guest speakers were Aideen McLaughlin and Sorcha Rice. Louise praised the two speakers for giving great insights into the lived experience of autism as Sorcha Rice was diagnosed later in life with autism, ADHD and as having a Pathological Demand Avoidance profile, while Aideen is a mother of two autistic children.
“Our speakers this year were just out of this world. They were absolutely amazing,” Louise said. “A couple of people throughout the night who have gone to multiple galas said they were the best speakers yet.”
Louise said that the event ran incredibly smoothly because of Rory Brennan’s fantastic work as MC and that guests were entertained by John Kelly’s musical performance.
The theme of the gala was , as the organisers named each table after a child that Autism Heroes supports. On every table there was a picture and a small profile of the child that the table was named after.
“I think it’s really important to put a face and a name to the statistics,” Louise said. “There’s real life stories behind the statistics about autism.”
The event was well attended, with over 110 guests present.
“I think it’s really important that families walked out of that event with hope, knowing that they have support from Autism Heroes and other families that they meet along the journey,” Louise concluded.
