Flight Centre’s national charity of choice is the Make-A-Wish Foundation® whom we have proudly supported since 2003. The mission at the Make-A-Wish Foundation® is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Over the past several years, Flight Centre has contributed over $350,000 in magical travel wishes for children in need across Canada. Recently, we sponsored Ryan’s Wish to go to Ireland and here’s how it went in his own words:
I would like to thank Flight Centre and the entire Make-A-Wish® organization. I have Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and my wish was to travel to Ireland where most of my family background is from. The wish started right as I walked out the door where I was greeted by a limousine to take me to the airport! We pulled up to the airport in style and flew on a quick 8 hour flight (it felt quick at least) and a connector flight to Belfast, Ireland. I was completely overtaken by the amazing landscape and old buildings of Ireland.
We took a rental car to the hotel we were staying at, but even with the GPS we had we managed to get lost on our way. The first local we asked jumped in without hesitance and led us to the hotel, and when an employee there didn’t know where we could park our car he ran in and grabbed us a map to a parking area and fully explained step-by-step how to get there. I couldn’t believe the kindness I was surrounded with. Over our stay in Belfast we met many kind and eccentric locals and saw mind blowing castles and were left in awe by the deep cliffs, emerald waters, and rolling hills.
On the fourth day we were sad to leave Belfast but ready to start the next part of our adventure in Dublin. On our way though we stopped off in the town our relatives on my mom’s side and armed with only a general area of their house and a picture we were able to track down the location of the old family home! Almost too good to be true, when we knocked on the door, the person living there turned out to be a lost relative!
Amazed at what we just discovered, we drove the rest of the way to just outside Dublin and checked in to our next hotel: Cabra CASTLE! It was amazing. It had large ground, a 9-hole golf course, and of course standard with the elegant rooms and towers expected of a castle. Although we only stayed one night it felt like we spent the majority of the trip there. The experience was even better with dinner from the award winning chef at the castle’s five-star restaurant. We slept in a room in the courtyard of the castle (if listening for the ghost that’s rumoured to walk the grounds counts as sleeping). We spent the next afternoon enjoying the rest of the castle, then head out into Dublin. The entire city of Dublin was a party. Time rushed by as we enjoyed amazing street music, performers, bought some souvenirs, and had some great food.
Soon enough we were on our last day and made our way back to the airport to end what had to be the greatest trip of my life. Looking back on the whole trip, my favourite part had to be roaming the Giant’s Causeway that wraps around the cliffs above the beautiful emerald waters, and the adventure’s that we went on as a family.
None of it would have happened if it weren’t for the generosity of our sponsors and the hard work and intricate planning of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Thank you again,
-Wish Child Ryan
For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation please visit: www.makeawish.ca. Did this blog inspire you to visit Ireland? Check out our Travel Guide or feel free to get in contact with one of our agents at 1-866-502-4605