VIDEO: ‘Best day ever’ - Eight-year-old Katie’s surprise birthday cavalcade while in lockdown

Just a few short weeks ago, Katie Francis-Lynott from Brandywell Avenue had been looking forward to celebrating her birthday with a party in Brunswick Bowling Alley in Pennyburn when the COVID-19 pandemic closures and restrictions meant that everything had to be called off.

Determined to make the day as special as they could for their daughter however, Katie’s parents Christina and Dominic created big colourful banners and managed to make sure Katie got to see all her friends on Thursday.

A clearly stunned and delighted young Katie - a pupil at Nazareth House Primary School- received numerous cards and gifts from her friends and their parents who beeped their horns as they passed by the family’s home in their cars.

Katie’s mum Christina told the Journal: “It was brilliant. It was a complete surprise for Katie. We organised it with all her wee school friends and their families, her grannies and grandas and friends.

“Katie was devastated yesterday morning that she wasn’t going to be seeing her friends on her birthday. We had the Bowling Alley booked for her birthday, the cake ordered and everything before all this happened. It felt really unfair because their First Communion has been cancelled as well, so this really lifted her spirits. It lifted everybody’s spirits, the other parents were saying, even for the children to get out for a wee drive, because this is really affecting the children not seeing their friends and it’s heartbreaking.

“Katie was just so happy. I asked her how her day was last night and she said it was the best day ever. Her friends had wrote wee messages on their cards saying ‘sorry you can’t have the party you expected’ and ‘we hope this makes you happy’.”

And it looks like the collective efforts of Katie’s parents, relatives and friends paid off. Happy birthday Katie!