Ballymahon author to launch new book at local Christmas market

Ballymahon author Jessica Thompson will officially launch her new children's book, 'Operation Blue Light Heroes' this Saturday, December 2, in Ballymahon at 3pm as part of the Jolly Boys Christmas Market.

The book is the third in a series as part of the Operation Blue Light Santa fundraising campaign and it's beautifully illustrated by Pat Taaffe. The campaign has been run every Christmas since 2021 in conjunction with An Garda Síochána and has raised over €22,000 for charity already. This year's chosen charities are the Little Blue Heroes Foundation and St Christopher's Services.

Jessica also wrote the previous two books, 'Operation Blue Santa' (2021) and 'Operation Blue Nose Reindeer' (2022).

Jessica said: "This year's book was particularly fun to write. We have featured seven of our amazing Little Blue Heroes and six of the very good dogs at the Garda Dot Unit. I enjoyed getting creative with the story, while our illustrator, Pat, worked hard to produce beautiful likenesses of each of the children and the dogs.

"It was also a very good opportunity to pay tribute to those heroes who have passed on. Cujo, our beautiful coverdog, and two of our Little Blue Heroes, Mighty Max and Luke are all beautifully remembered in this story. We hope these pages will bring joy to their families and to the families of the other five heroes who featured: Zoe, Maddie, Rian, Kalvin and Tobias.

"In fact, we hope the message in this book will be well received by all children. Sometimes, when things go wrong and it seems like there's no way out, simply picking up the phone and asking for help will change your whole perspective. Help is always out there, don't ever be afraid to ask for it."

Annually, through light-hearted storytelling, the Operation Blue Light Santa books teach children the importance of kindness and being there for each other, particularly at Christmas time.

In this year’s story, there is panic at the North Pole on Christmas Eve as the reindeer all come down with the flu. Unable to fly the sleigh, Santa has to come up with a plan to save Christmas. With the help of An Garda Síochana, he enlists the help of the Garda Dog Unit and the Little Blue Heroes. The story features six Garda Dogs and seven honorary Gardaí from the Little Blue Heroes.

Longford PPN Development Officer, Siobhán Cronogue, said: “Longford PPN are delighted to partner with An Garda Síochána on Operation Blue Light Santa for the third year in a row. This year, to raise awareness of the various disabilities many children and their families face and also to raise much needed funding for both charities, St Christopher’s Services and the Little Blue Heroes Foundation.”

Garda Emma Kiernan, founder of Operation Blue Light Santa, said: “The Blue Light Santa Team, our Little Blue Heroes and the Garda Dog Unit are very excited for the launch of this year’s children’s book, which is in aid of St Christopher’s Services and the Little Blue Heroes Foundation. The book is guaranteed to bring lots of smiles and joy to our readers as they eagerly follow the storyline.

“Thank you very much to Longford PPN and Longford Community Safety Partnership for your continuing support of this project and to our creative team, journalist Jessica Thompson and artist Pat Taaffe, who have done the most wonderful job producing another magical book.”

The book was generously funded and supported by Longford Public Participation Network and the Longford Community Safety Partnership and is part of the wider Operation Blue Light Santa fundraising campaign, which was founded by Garda Emma Kiernan in 2021.

Operation Blue Light Heroes will be available to purchase from December 2. The book costs €10 per copy. Copies of the two previous books will also be on sale for €5 each.

For updates on where you can purchase your copy, or to order a copy by post, see @BlueLightSanta on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.