AS you all know by now, Caballs on Bridge Street will be closing its doors for the last time later this month after 99 years in business.
Local filmmaker Timmy Dowd went to see Ann Laide and she told of the history of the shop, how it evolved over the years from a bike shop to a toy and gift business, the loyalty of customers and staff and how sad she is that she is retiring. Have a look below…
IT’S that time of the year again when Caballs Toymaster join forces with St Vincent de Paul to help ensure every child in the area gets a toy they want from Santa this Christmas.
The ‘Operation Santa’ annual appeal has been a great success in the past and it’s hoped the people of Tralee and beyond show their seasonal spirit of generosity again by contributing.
Anyone who comes into the shop on Bridge Street can buy a special voucher, of any value, with the chosen amount going towards St Vincent de Paul to help them to get gifts for Kerry children at Christmas.
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St Vincent de Paul will have a wish list from children and they try to get each of them a gift they want for Christmas from the money collected. So you can actually buy a toy for a child or just buy a voucher.
“We want to thank everyone for their generosity last year. The families really appreciate it and it was a huge success. Hopefully we’ll do as well this year,” said Marian Moore of the Operation Santa appeal.
“The vouchers are used to buy what the child wants which is so important. We really want to thank Ann here in Caballs who has been so good to SVP over the years,” said Treasa Walsh
Ann Laide of Caballs Toymaster said; “It’s a pleasure to help St Vincent de Paul provide gifts for children who may not otherwise receive a present. With this campaign, each child will get what they want this Christmas.”
It’s such an important appeal so get involved if you can. Call into the shop on Bridge Street to buy a voucher anytime up un. It could make a child’s Christmas.
ONCE again, Caballs Toymaster has joined forces with St Vincent de Paul again this year to help ensure every child in the area gets a toy they want from Santa this Christmas.
The annual appeal has been a great success in the past and it’s hoped the people of Tralee and beyond show their seasonal spirit of generosity again by contributing.
Anyone who comes into the shop on Bridge Street can buy a special voucher,of any value, with the chosen amount going towards St Vincent de Paul to help them to get gifts for Kerry children at Christmas.
Continued below…
St Vincent de Paul will have a wish list from children and they try to get each of them a gift they want for Christmas from the money collected. So you can actually buy a toy for a child or just buy a voucher.
Junior Locke of St Vincent de Paul said the appeal is a vital every year to help make Christmas for children who would not get a gift if it weren’t for the scheme.
“It’s extremely important for us. When it comes to the Christmas period and some people haven’t put something aside for toys, Maurice and Ann here in Caballs have been incredibly helpful to us with this appeal. When we go to a house and we know that there isn’t going to be any toys, we can come down here and ensure we get that toy to make that child’s Christmas.”
Ann Laide of Caballs Toymaster said; “It’s a pleasure and an honour to be able to help St Vincent de Paul with all the work they do. They need so much at this time of the year we’ll do everything possible to help. All it takes is to buy a voucher of any value and that money will go straight to St Vincent de Paul to buy toys for Christmas.”
It’s such an important appeal so get involved if you can. Call into the shop on Bridge Street to buy a voucher. It could make a child’s Christmas.
THE annual puppet show and fun morning at Caballs Toymaster drew more big crowds on Saturday morning.
It’s a real family weekend around town with the Tír na nÓg festival and Caball’s annual show has become a tradition over the past few years.
Children gathered from 10.30am for a series of free puppet shows – involving ‘Granny Annie’ and her missing dog ‘Tico’.
Toby the Toymaster Dog was there too to meet the kids as was one of the Sylvanian Family while there was also little goodie bags and balloons handed out so nobody went home empty handed.
The puppet show has become annual event a great place for parents and kids to visit on an Easter Saturday. Scroll down for photos…
CABALLS Toymaster has joined forces with St Vincent de Paul again this year to help ensure every child in the area gets a toy they want from Santa this Christmas.
The annual appeal has been a tremendous success in the past and it’s hoped the people of Tralee and beyond show their seasonal spirit of generosity again by contributing.
Continued below…
Anyone who comes into the shop on Bridge Street can buy a special voucher, with a minimum value of €5, with the chosen amount going towards St Vincent de Paul to help them to get gifts for Kerry children at Christmas.
St Vincent de Paul will have a wish list from children and they try to get each of them a gift they want for Christmas from the money collected.
Treasa Walsh, a volunteer with St Vincent de Paul explained that the appeal has worked wonderfully in the past number of years.
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“The vouchers was an idea we came up with because we found people are very kind in donating toys, but we also found that some toys donated were not suitable to the child. We wanted to shop local so we approached Anne with the idea and she said she was more than willing to help out in any way.”
“We take a list from children of toys they want, within a reasonable budget. We would be very grateful for donations, so we can assure every child in Tralee will get a present they want,” said Treasa.
Ann Laide of Caballs Toymaster said; “It’s our honour and pleasure to be able to help – in our own small way – St Vincent de Paul to do some of their great work,” said.
It’s a fantastic appeal so get involved, if you can, this year by calling into the shop on Bridge Street to buy a voucher. It could make a child’s Christmas.
A LOCAL toy store has helped raise enough money to buy vital equipment for a young Tralee girl with a rare disorder.
Back in May, Caballs Toymaster on Bridge Street started selling little beanies of their mascot ‘Toby’ for €3, with all monies raised going to Erin’s Fund. There was also a donation box which raised hundreds more.
On Saturday, the donations were presented to the O’Sullivan family at the toy store.
Erin O’Sullivan is a nine-year old girl from Gort Na Greine near Gallowsfield who has an extremely rare disorder called Ataxia Telangiectasia.
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The condition combines the worst symptoms of muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, immune system disorder and sufferers have a greater chance of getting cancer.
Over the past few years, Erin’s condition has worsened which is a great worry for her parents Paul and Caroline and family.
“She’s doing very well health wise, but not so in terms of balance and has to go into a wheelchair more often,” said Erin’s mum, Caroline. “Medical expenses are starting to pile up. The HSE can only do so much because there is so much need out there for equipment,” she continued.
“Ann here in Caballs wanted to help us for years, but it’s only now that we really needed the money for medical equipment which we are able to buy now thanks to the funds raised. We have another event coming up before Christmas in Dunnes Stores for Erin to get a special chair for our house. It’s to make Erin’s life easier and more independent,” said Caroline, who wanted to express her heartfelt thanks to everyone who has helped them.
Ann Laide from Caballs Toymaster also thanked people who donated.
“We would like to thank all our customers who contributed to the event. Caballs is delighted to help the O’Sullivan family get extra special equipment Erin needs to help her with her condition,” said Ann.
Separately, Saturday morning also saw a presentation of prizes for a Lego competition run at the shop where Adam O’Flaherty won first prize.
THERE was magic tricks and a mystery surrounding a missing dog to be solved by children in Caballs Toymaster on Saturday morning.
In what has become an annual event at the Bridge Street institution, children gathered from 10.30am for a series of free puppet shows – involving ‘Granny Annie’ and her missing dog ‘Tico’ – as part of the Tír Na nÓg Children’s Festival.
Toby the Toymaster Dog was there too to meet the kids while there was also spot prizes to be won and balloons handed out so nobody went home empty handed. The puppet show has become annual event a great place for parents and kids to visit on an Easter Saturday. Scroll down for photos…
CABALLS have joined forces with St Vincent de Paul to help ensure every child in the area gets a toy they want from Santa this Christmas.
The annual appeal has been a tremendous success in the past and it’s hoped the people of Tralee and beyond show their seasonal spirit of generosity again by contributing.
Anyone who comes into the shop on Bridge Street can buy a special voucher for whatever value they wish, with that amount going towards St Vincent de Paul to help them to get gifts for Kerry children at Christmas.
Continued below…
St Vincent de Paul will have a wish list from children and they try to get each of them a gift they want from the money collected.
“Every year we do this with Caballs,” said Helen Locke from St Vincent de Paul. “The reaction we get is amazing. The amount of toys we can get children for Christmas as a result is great. Some families would be in tears when we hand over the presents. It’s so good that we can help so many people,” said Helen.
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Ann Laide of Caballs Toymaster said she’s always amazed at the great work St Vincent de Paul do for people in the town and is delighted to get involved every year.
“Caballs are delighted to be able help St Vincent de Paul collect money for children at Christmas. For the last three years of the appeal, every child has received something they wanted from Santa on Christmas morning,” she said.
It’s a fantastic appeal so get involved, if you can, this year by calling into the shop. It could make a child’s Christmas.
A WONDERFUL morning of puppet shows and balloon fun was held in Caballs Toymaster on Saturday morning as part of the Tír Na nÓg Children’s Festival.
A children’s entertainer pulled out all the stops to enthral kids with a story about ‘Granny Annie’ and Boris the Magician while some other children were just happy to spend time in a toy store.
‘Toby’ the Toymaster mascot was also there to pose for photos with the children during a well organised event by the local Bridge Street store.
Scroll down for photos…
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CABALL’S Toymaster in Tralee are helping out the Jack & Jill Foundation…with a little assistance from ‘Toby’.
Toymaster ‘Toby’ puppies are on sale in the Bridge Street shop and it’s all to raise funds for the campaign to provide home nursing hours for 300 Irish families with sick children.
People are being asked to visit Caballs Toymaster store in Tralee to purchase a ‘Toby’ mascot puppy for just €3 and every cent is going towards the Jack & Jill Foundation.
“Last year’s ‘Toby for Charity’ campaign was a resounding success. So we are delighted to be supporting Jack & Jill once again, with every cent raised from the initiative going to the charity,” said Caball’s Toymaster spokesperson, Ann Laide.
“Working in and supporting local community is very important to Toymaster so the ‘Toby for Charity’ campaign is very meaningful, as each Toby sold helps a child in the local community,” said Ann.
The ‘Toby for Charity’ campaign in aid of the Foundation is being supported by TV presenter Sybil Mulcahy and media personality Brendan O’Connor.
This is the second time Toymaster has run the ‘Toby for Charity’ initiative. Last year, almost 700 hours of home nursing support was made possible from the sale of the Toby puppies.
Eileen Ni Mhurchu, local nurse with the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation said: “Jack & Jill provides direct funding and home nursing care support, including end of life care, to families of children with brain damage up to the age of four years old who suffer severe intellectual and physical developmental delay. We give these families ‘the gift of time,’ which means time to do the things that we so often take for granted like shopping, taking their other children to the park or a night’s sleep.
People can also donate online at www.jackandjill.ie