Our flagship campaign saw 200,000 EB butterfly tattoos being shared across Ireland to support families living with EB. Celebrities got behind the campaign too, with Johnny Sexton appearing on The Late Late Show to talk about his involvement as well as our charity partners Applegreen and Leinster Rugby lending support. Every October, for one week, people across Ireland wear an EB butterfly tattoo in support of families living with EB. EB Awareness Week 2016 was our most successful campaign ever with over €100,000 raised.

Not only did it raise much-needed funds to support our services but Irish and Leinster rugby hero Johnny Sexton took time out to appear on The Late Late Show to talk about his involvement with DEBRA Ireland.

Our retail partner Applegreen really got behind the campaign with tattoos being available in every station in the country.  Their staff also held their own fundraisers to support our families.

On 29th October, we took over the RDS and turned it blue with butterflies for the Leinster v Connacht match but more importantly for our butterfly Liam Hagan. When DEBRA Ireland was chosen as Leinster Rugby’s charity of the year no-one was more excited than 8-year-old Liam. A lifelong Leinster fan and sports nut, Liam was due to be the mascot for the game but sadly, he passed away on 1st October.

We asked fans to wear a butterfly for him and all families fighting the battle with EB.

Thank you to everyone for all your support.