Limerick family delivers festive joy with Christmas lights display

THE NITRATES derogation changes will mean many will be looking to buy extra land for their cattle but the Lynchs want to expand for their penguins and reindeers!

The family in Castleconyers, Ballyagran are marking 20 years of bringing festive joy to one and all with their Christmas lights spectacle.

Kevin and Lorraine started the display long before daughters Caoimhe, 13, and Aoife, 5, brightened their world.

After Caoimhe was born they started to do it for charity as she weighed two lbs and five ounces at birth and spent nine weeks in the neonatal ward in University Maternity Hospital Limerick.

To date, they have handed over cheques totalling €33,000 to the neonatal ward. Kevin and Lorraine wanted to thank the hospital and staff for the incredible care their first-born received and called it Caoimhe’s Christmas Lights.

This year’s display was turned on last Saturday.

“We have 350 pieces out on the lawn between santys, snowmen, elves, teddy bears, penguins, soldiers, drummer boys, reindeers, you name it. We only bought a small few bits because we are running out of space - they are nearly down to the end of the lawn.

“Most people would be buying extra land for grazing cattle but we’ll be buying it for santys and snowmen,” laughed Lorraine.

It takes them three full days to put everything out on the lawn and plug them all in. They also have to be staked down due to the vagaries of the Irish weather and chained off for insurance reasons. It adds around €300 to Lynch’s ESB bill in January which they cover themselves.

But it is all worth it to see the children’s faces light up in wonder and amazement.

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A large crowd braved the cold for the turning on ceremony.

“If you saw the kids the other night, the very minute the lights were turned on they couldn’t wait to get in and then they didn’t want to go home,” smiled Lorraine.

To see for yourself, put the eircode V35 X688 into your phone and call between 5pm and 9.30pm every night.

There is a donation box for visitors but as Lorraine says: “If you can (donate) you can and if you can’t that’s no problem either”.