Chatshow host king, Graham Norton hosted a hugely successful tribute concert to Helen Fennell at The Everyman Cork. Helen was 18 years old when she passed away after receiving a heart transplant, but in her memory her mother Elaine and father Justin wanted to pay tribute to her joyful life.

The Concert, ‘Graham Norton and Friends: A Concert for Helen’ was a sell-out months in advance of the show. The event featured singers John Spillane and Linda Kenny and The Glaslinn Choir and a host of other singers and friends before a packed house of family members, friends and relatives of Helen and the O’Driscoll family.

Helen Fennell had every gift but length of years. She was as kind as she was beautiful. She had poise and gentleness. She had a wicked sense of humour. She was wise and insightful well beyond her years. She was a great person to talk to and a great person to be silent with. She had style and taste and creativity. She was a marvellous cook – particularly of amazingly gooey chocolate desserts. She was hardworking and ambitious. She had a great gift for friendship.

But above all things she had courage that utterly humbled the rest of us. Helen underwent a heart transplant in the Mater Hospital in 2014. She had a wonderful 8 months following the operation but passed away aged 18 at Christmas of that year having lived an utterly joyful life.

Although tickets for what was a fantastic event were completely sold out, however you can still make a donation to support three very worthy causes. All proceeds from the event will go towards Cardiac Services at Cork University Hospital, The Mater Hospital Foundation and St Angela’s School https://www.justgiving.com/helenfennell Helen’s family would like to thank everyone for their huge support to date.