The Hanbury Family are second generation Irish. Andrea and Tommy are missing the football coaching season and organising all the communions. However, they have been busy bike-riding & homeschooling but sadly had to forgo the Gaelic football season although have done a bit of zoom training with Parnells.
A London-Irish photographer has been taking Covid-19 portraits of people and families on their doorsteps to tell the story of how people coped with lockdown while also raising money for charity.
Mary Hennessy from Neasden has her own business photographing weddings and other occasions but has been taking portraits of the locked down public in Watford, Bushey and surrounding areas.
The Walls are 2nd generation Irish from family from Lixnaw and Ballinskelligs. It was not quite the 50th Birthday celebrations Tracey had planned, but luckily she had all her children home for a change and she had an absolutely brilliant birthday with lots of visitors in the front and back garden (but all obeying social distancing rules).
Mary has already raised £1,000+ for Home Start Watford who help struggling families to give children the best start in life.
Mary is also raising funds for Spread a Smile, the charity that brings joy and laughter seriously and terminally ill children during intensive treatment and extended hospital stays and taking physical donations for Redtrust Bushey food bank.
The Mahoney O’Connor Family: Working from home, homeschooling and getting the house fixed up when they can
Mary said: “People have been really supportive giving money to these charities at such a trying time. I’ve been taken aback by how people that are going through such a difficult time with job losses, mental illness and illnesses such as cancer are giving back to the community and happy to help where they can.
“For instance the Hanburys’ little girl is in remission for a rare cancer and has been undergoing treatment for years but they are there week in week out helping in the community with a smile which is one of the reasons I chose Spread a Smile who go into hospitals to entertain really sick children having treatments.”
Fr Jim McNicholas has celebrated his 75th birthday and has been really busy with phonecalls and emails from anxious parishioners. Fr.Jim has tried to combat the loneliness by watching TV and doing crosswords when he gets a chance. Sadly he hasn’t got to grips with FaceTime or zoom anything yet as he has one of them phones ‘that only make phonecalls’.
The Gormleys: Dad is orginally from Kildare while Shelley is busy collecting for the food bank and home-schooling three young children.
The McLoughlin family are 2nd generation Irish with family in Galway, Mayo, Donegal and Offaly. They have been doing Irish dancing lessons with Brooks Academy via Zoom and Irish Music via The London School of Irish Music. They also took part in the Chicago Irish Music Fleadh competition via Zoom too.
