Caoimhe has a date with Take That’s Gary she will Never Forget

Caoimhe has a date with Take That’s Gary she will Never Forget

11 February 2015

PERSISTENCE has paid off for a Downpatrick mum determined to make her daughter’s wish come true.

Twelve year-old Caoimhe Rhodes McMenamin has just received news that her celebrity hero Gary Barlow will meet her when he performs with Take That in Belfast this May.

The mega star has arranged the meeting following a persuasive online campaign launched by her mum Michelle.

Despite the popularity of the campaign, which drew thousands of supporters, Michelle admits she was stunned when Gary tweeted her to confirm a date with his young fan.

Although Michelle is thrilled about the meeting and admits she was shaking after hearing the news, she says it will be totally life-changing for Caoimhe who suffers from an undiagnosed syndrome.

Caoimhe’s poor health was almost immediately recognised by doctors when she was born prematurely weighing less than 2lbs – her twin brother Conor weighed a healthy 4lbs 6.5oz in comparison.

Despite two months in special care, Caoimhe struggled to feed and was only allowed home once her mother had mastered the use of specialist feeding equipment. 

She battled life-threatening breathing problems and was eventually well enough to start school. She is now happily settled at Knockevin Special School. 

Michelle says that Caoimhe’s fascination with Gary Barlow began when he was a judge on X Factor.

Although Michelle admits she may have commented occasionally about him on screen and may have enjoyed his music in her 20s, she says Caoimhe quickly became a much bigger fan than she had ever been.

She will even overcome her shyness to perform Gary’s songs for her and her grandmother.

“She is just obsessed by him,” admits Michelle.

“It was because I knew how much 

it would mean for her to meet him that I started the campaign, basically tweeting and putting messages on Facebook asking him to see her at his concert.

“I didn’t even tell Caoimhe about the campaign because I did not want her to be disappointed but she soon realised as people started to mention it to her.

“When I ask her why she likes him she just says ‘there are so many different reasons.’”

Michelle says she realised something had happened in her campaign when she received dozens of notifications on her phone within a few minutes on Thursday morning.

“We were running a bit late and I had a look to see what was going on,” she said.

“It took me a while to find Gary’s tweet as there were already so many responses to it within just a few minutes.

“I was shaking so much I couldn’t drive the car.”

Although Michelle is as excited by Caoimhe about the May 4 date, she predicts the next few months will be tortuous.

“God help me for the next three months while we wait for the date,” she said.

“People who know me and who know Caoimhe know how fascinated she is by him.

“Even the ones in her school know what a big deal this is. She got a big cheer when we arrived at school on Thursday morning.”