3.6million in 122 grants to benefit 1.1million children in every county in Ireland
Full list of grants available here
The lives of children across Ireland will be improved in multiple ways through 122 RT Toy Show Appeal grants announced today, which were made possible by the generosity of viewers of last November's Late Late Toy Show.
The response from Late Late Toy Show viewers to the appeal will help transform the lives of 1.1 million children, young people and their families in Ireland, with every county on the island benefitting from grants totaling 3.6million.
The RT Toy Show Appeal began in 2020,and was inspired by the story of Saoirse Ruane from Kiltullagh Co Galway, who won the hearts of the nation with her appearance on The Late Late Toy Show. Saoirse sadly passed away in March of this year, and RT Director General Kevin Backhurst today spoke of Saoirse's enduring legacy with The Toy Show Appeal.
Announcing the grants, RT Director General Kevin Bakhurst said: The RT Toy Show Appeal is one of the most important things that we do as an organisation. We are so grateful for the support of our Late Late Toy Show audience whose generosity has ensured that RT can continue to make a positive difference to the lives of thousands of children, and their families across the island, north and south. Children have always been the inspiration behind the Late Late Toy Show and have, in turn, inspired the RT Toy Show Appeal, not least, Saoirse Ruane who will be remembered as someone who made such a positive and lasting impact on us all. Her memory will live on through the RT Toy Show Appeal and the many young lives that will be transformed.
The RT Toy Show Appeal, in partnership with the Community Foundation Ireland, announced today that the following five charities are to receive transformative grants of 120,000 each.
The Offaly Traveller Movement was awarded funds to extend its unique Travelling to Wellbeing Mental Health Service' which is a Traveller specific programme to address the critical mental health needs within the Traveller community.
Crosscare was awarded a transformative grant for their innovative social supermarket' pilot aimed at addressing the root causes of food poverty in a dignified and effective way and promoting a move away from food banks that can perpetuate poverty and contribute to industry around food surplus.
Community Law & Mediation received funding for its Children and Young People's Law Service' to meet the needs and realise change for marginalised groups.
Children At Risk in Ireland CARI was awarded a transformative grant for its trauma-informed therapeutic group support for adolescents who have experienced child sexual abuse, and parent support groups for carers of adolescents who have experienced child sexual abuse.
Babor International Arts Festival for Children was granted the award to roll out a creative sensory workshop model for children with additional needs in five schools across Galway, Westmeath, and Clare, accompanied by professional development for teachers.
The remainder of the donations will be split amongst over a hundred charities across the island of Ireland by charity partner Community Foundation Ireland who manage the grant process on behalf of RT and its viewers. Among the recipient charities are organisations like AsIAm Ireland's Autism Charity, Barnardos, Barretstown, Cancer Care West and Jack and Jill Children's Foundation.
Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland said: Children's lives in every county are about to be transformed thanks to the huge generosity of RT Late Late Toy Show viewers and the Toy Show Appeal. Colour, excitement and joy are being introduced into so many young lives including those living with illness and disability. Protection and safety will also be provided to those living with bullying, in violent homes and facing abuse. The Community Foundation is a proud partner of RT in realising the vision of viewers to support children across Ireland.
Grants are being provided under three main areas of support:
Addressing Essential Needs to assist those children in every county who face the greatest challenges. Projects include: family support for children across Ireland at risk of food poverty, therapy and counselling for children and young people facing homelessness (Dublin), and specialist legal support for children in the care system. 650,000 has been dedicated to ensuring children are fed, warm, safe and have brilliant opportunities ahead of them.
Health and Wellbeing focuses on supporting children living with disabilities and life limiting conditions. In total, over 1.5M is being awarded this year to provide health, disability supports, mental wellbeing and therapy services. Grants include supports for children with cancer diagnosis in Cavan, palliative care supports for children in Munster and supporting those with ADHD in Belfast.
Creativity and Play will ensure the lives of marginalised and disadvantaged children are full of colour, creativity and fun. Grants include: providing access to recreational activities including surfing in Donegal and Galway, developing a neurodiversity sensory centre in Leinster, and a youth theatre for children with disabilities all across Ireland.
Local projects and organisations in every county of Ireland will receive grants to help with a diverse range of needs including meeting basic needs like food and essentials, disability supports, creativity and play and bereavement support. Over £287,000 has been awarded to 13 charities and organisations in Northern Ireland including Angel Eyes NI Services, Youthlife, Sticky Fingers Arts and Action Mental Health.
More from RTE
27/03/2026
RT Supporting the Arts
RT is Supporting 20 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this April
RT is proud to support an exciting month of arts and cul...
27/03/2026
Average of 1.37 million viewers watched Irish World Cup heartbreak on RT 2
Over one million streams on RT Player
Highest number of streams for any single eve...
26/03/2026
RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm.
The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...
24/03/2026
Jock and Conor are back in Cork for series 5
A new series of hit-comedy The Young Offenders will drop on RT Player on Good Friday 3 April. The show, produced...
24/03/2026
RT 's new history podcast, What Were We Like, is out now. Hosted by historian Diarmaid Ferriter and archivist Catriona Crowe, the series focuses on modern I...
24/03/2026
All three presenters, Maura, D ith and Sinead, celebrate as afternoon chat show filmed in Cork hits milestone.
Ireland's longest running afternoon show, t...
23/03/2026
RT is sad today to learn of the death of legendary RT Sport broadcaster Michael Lyster, who died this morning aged 71 years.
Kevin Bakhurst, Director-General...
23/03/2026
RT Documentary On One has scooped its first ever dedicated music award. At the 2026 Icelandic Music Awards, composer lfur Eldj rn won Release of the Year in t...
23/03/2026
Inside Sport, Liveline, Morning Ireland and 2FM DRIVE will all be in Prague to bring fans to the heart of the action
Every Moment, Every GenerationRT | FIFA W...
20/03/2026
Dingle, Co. Kerry - Animation Dingle is delighted to announce that Suzanne Kelly, Head of Children's and Young People's Content at RT , will receive the...
20/03/2026
It's time to play The Money List! Baz Ashmawy is back at the helm as the qui...
19/03/2026
Other Voices presents a legendary night of music as Foo Fighters bring their stadium anthems to St James' Church, An Daingean. The surprise performance teas...
19/03/2026
***Issued by RT on behalf of RTS Ireland Awards / Gradaim RTS 2026...
16/03/2026
After a nail-biting Grand Finale, Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins has been announced as the winner of Dancing with the Stars 2026.
The four finalists each dance...
16/03/2026
Welcome to Moore Street will begin on RT One and RT Player on Thursday 19 Marc...
13/03/2026
RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been pres...
13/03/2026
Lights! Camera! Action! The 98th Oscars set to air live as RT backs the Irish n...
12/03/2026
The Late Late Show Show St Patrick's Day special
Dancing with the Stars f...
11/03/2026
TELL US YOUR (SHORT) STORIES
The 2026 RT Short Story Competition is now open for entries
Recognising and rewarding the best new Irish fiction writing for...
11/03/2026
RT 's The Traitors Ireland is among the nominees for the 2026 Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence, announced today....
09/03/2026
A powerful new national initiative supporting people living with dementia launch...
06/03/2026
We are deeply saddened to hear the very sad news of the death of our friend and colleague, John McHugh. John was an exceptionally talented creative leader who s...
06/03/2026
First exclusive look at RT 's promo as Ireland prepare to take on Czechia
Every Moment, Every Generation
https://youtu.be/2ijo96EadLU
36 years after Geor...
05/03/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
RT Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2...
03/03/2026
RT is proud to support a rich and diverse programme of arts and cultural events taking place across Ireland throughout March 2026. This month brings a remarkab...
03/03/2026
RT Media Sales has announced Spry Finance has renewed it's sponsorship of M...
27/02/2026
One of Ireland's favourite lifestyle shows Home of the Year, returns for its 12th series and will be proudly sponsored by SIRO. The brand-new series will ai...
27/02/2026
Our Farm: A GIY Story lands on RT One and RT Player from March 3
From walled garden to community farm, new six-part series captures the unfiltered realities...
27/02/2026
Note: English version included below the Irish language version.
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2026 ar RT
A Ghaeilge mo cheol th '
T feachtas athnuaite i n...
26/02/2026
There were two big wins for RT KIDS shows at the 17th Kidscreen Awards in San Diego this week with Maddie Triggs and BeddyByes both taking home gongs.
The K...
26/02/2026
RT has confirmed that it has today received payment from the GAA for its 50% share of GAAGO.
RT confirmed in February 2025 that it had agreed in principle wi...
26/02/2026
RT Statement regarding the broadcast of Republic of Ireland vs Israel Nations League fixture
If the match goes ahead and that is a decision for the FAI as ...
24/02/2026
Katharine Wolinska appointed to lead Partnerships
RT Commercial has announced ...
23/02/2026
Audience peak of over a million on RT 2 as Ireland beat England in the Six Natio...
20/02/2026
Other Voices returns to RT this Spring with performances from Dermot Kennedy, A...
17/02/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Classic Irish Album
And the winning album is
T...
17/02/2026
RT has today announced that as part of its public-service remit, it will expand...
16/02/2026
RT News & Current Affairs has today announced the new appointments of journalis...
13/02/2026
New RT series tells stranger-than-fiction stories of Irish con artists
Swindlers airs Wednesday 18 February, 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
Swindlers, a...
11/02/2026
The intergalactic children's show starring Adam King will premiere on 14 February on RT 2, RT KIDSjr and RT Player
The Late Late Toy Show star Adam King...
09/02/2026
RT Investigates rapid rise in waiting list for the Central Mental Hospital
am...
06/02/2026
The Winter Olympics 2026 in Milano Cortina officially get underway this evening (Friday 6 February) with the Opening Ceremony live on RT Player and RT News ch...
04/02/2026
Following the passing of our friend and colleague Hugh Wallace, and with the full support of his family, RT will proceed with the broadcast of the new series o...
29/01/2026
RT has today announced that Annette Malone has been appointed to the role of Chief People Officer, RT following a public competition.
As Chief People Officer...
27/01/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to support a dynamic programme of cultural events taking place across Ireland this February. From visual art, film, music, ...
26/01/2026
RT is today publishing a statistical summary of the Register of External Activities for the third quarter of 2025.
The RT Register of External Activities com...
24/01/2026
RT and Virgin Media Television kick off comprehensive free-to-air coverage of t...
23/01/2026
Find out where Sare and Suze are now on RT One and RT Player Thursday 29 January at 10.15pm
Hit drama SisterS, created by, written by and starring real-life ...
23/01/2026
RT is delighted to announce that the RT and F s ireann / Screen Ireland supported short film Retirement Plan has been nominated for Best Animated Short at th...
3.6million in 122 grants to benefit 1.1million children in every county in Ireland 
