Since the early days of the pandemic in spring 2020, Masks 4 All Ireland began creating face coverings for frontline workers, and others working or volunteering within residential or community-based care, where there was limited or no access to surgical masks, across the 32 counties of Ireland.

At a local level in Kildare, Nicola Hogarty, Community Development Worker with CKLP has been supporting the sewists in Kildare, providing a link between the sewists and the groups who might need masks, and coordinated the opportunity to offer free masks to other sectors which CKLP was supporting.

CKLP Youth Education Development worker, Áine Byrne, liaises with the DEIS post primary schools in Kildare, and when she offered these schools the possibility of free masks for their students there was immediate interest.

Catherine and Veronica, two of the Kildare based sewists, were undaunted by the order of 600 face coverings, and within a few weeks, they had created and distributed them to schools across Kildare.

It is worth pointing out here that the sewists give their time voluntarily, even though the service they offer is entirely professional in its quality.

County Kildare LEADER Partnership was delighted to be the link between Masks4AllIreland and the Post Primary schools concerned and would like to extend a huge Thank You to the sewing duo, Catherine & Veronica who are pictured above at their sewing machines!