Mairead’s ribbons of hope help lift spirits of Drumaness residents

Mairead’s ribbons of hope help lift spirits of Drumaness residents

20 May 2020

A DRUMANESS woman behind messages of support tied to railings in the village has been overwhelmed by their popularity. 

Hundreds of messages written by residents and passersby have brought much-needed cheer and optimism to the village over the past few weeks. 

Mairead McComb, who has lived in the village all her life, unwittingly triggered the outpouring of hope when she tied messages to a tree in her front garden at the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown. 

“Both myself and a neighbour, Ivan Porter, noticed the atmosphere around Drumaness had become gloomy,” Mairead (41) said.

“The village had suffered the loss of three people and people were getting a little down because they were unable to attend their funerals in the usual way.

“We decided that everyone could do with being cheered up so I began tying messages to a tree and people would come along and add to them, which was great.”

Before long Mairead’s tree had become overloaded with messages and the number of people who were coming to read them began to grow. 

“Ivan and myself decided to move the messages of support down to the railings of the cricket pitch – where it exploded in popularity,” said Mairead. 

“Most of the messages are in support of our NHS and are written to thank all the nurses, doctors and carers who work on the frontline. 

“However, one little girl from the village, who is about 10 years old, asked me could she write a Happy Birthday wish to her best friend and tie it on the railings. 

“We were so thrilled as that’s how we had hoped it would evolve in bringing the community together.”

Mairead added: “When cars go by we can hear them tooting and that brings a smile to everyone’s face again.”