Toy Show "a dream come true" for Ava!
Geraldine Grennan
With excitement building in houses all over Ireland ahead of the Late Late Toy Show tonight (Friday), one Offaly family have more reason than most to celebrate.
The family of 10-year old Ava Maher from Stonestown, Cloghan though they had won the Lotto when their daughter was one of just five children selected to appear on “The Late Late Toy Show Unwrapped” behind the scenes programme after her audition in the Bridge House. “We were delighted that she got that far” says her proud dad, Morgan “so we thought we'd never win the Lotto twice and she would actually be picked to appear on the Toy Show itself, but that's exactly what happened, and we still can't believe it.”
The fruits of the collaboration between RTE and Ava's family, which included an RTE crew coming to the Maher family home in Stonestown and following them around for a day, were aired on RTE 1 on Wednesday night of this week in the first of two 'Toy Show Unwrapped' programmes.
The last couple of months have been a whirlwind for the Mahers as Morgan's wife, Julie, was in hospital giving birth to their fourth child, Dearbhla, when the auditions for the Toy Show were first announced. “We had planned on sending in an application, but with so much going on in the house we missed the deadline, but thankfully her drama teacher, Lorraine Wynne, sent in a clip of Ava singing, and she got called to the auditions” says Morgan.
Ava, who is a fifth class pupil in Banagher national school, has always been interested in singing, according to her Dad. “She sings all the time, and she has also written some songs, so I hope she gets the chance to follow her dreams in the future” says her dad.
Ava's dad will accompany her to the RTE studios tonight for her much-anticipated appearance on the Late Late Toy Show, but like the parents of all the children performing in the Show, coveted audience tickets are not part of the package! “I will be watching Ava on a TV screen in the Green Room while Julie and the rest of the kids, Cronan (4), Emily (3) and Dearbhla (8 weeks) will be watching at home” says Morgan.
Being picked for the Toy Show is “a dream come true” for Ava Maher, and it is an experience that the whole family will “remember forever” says her dad.