Zoe is a Little Blue Hero this Christmas

Castleplunkett’s Zoe Cryan, whose heroic battle with cerebral palsy has captured the hearts and minds of the people of this county, is one of seven ‘Blue Light Heroes’ to feature in this year’s ‘Operation Blue Light Heroes’ book, the third in the series of charity books that are part of the wider Operation Blue Light Santa fundraising campaign, which was founded by Garda Emma Kiernan in 2021.

This year’s book was penned by journalist Jessica Thompson, author of the previous two books, Operation Blue Santa (2021) and Operation Blue Nose Reindeer (2022). The story is beautifully illustrated by Pat Taaffe.

Annually, through light-hearted storytelling, the Operation Blue Light Santa books teach children the importance of kindness and being there for each other - particularly at Christmas time.

In this year’s story, there is panic at the North Pole on Christmas Eve as the reindeer all come down with the flu. Unable to fly the sleigh, Santa has to come up with a plan to save Christmas. With the help of An Garda Síochana, he enlists the help of the Garda Dog Unit and the Little Blue Heroes. The story features six Garda Dogs and seven honorary Gardaí from the Little Blue Heroes.

So far, Operation Blue Light Santa has raised in excess of €22,000 for charity. All proceeds of this year’s book sales go towards the Little Blue Heroes Foundation and St. Christopher’s Services.

Operation Blue Light Santa is available to purchase from at a cost of €10 per copy. For updates on where you can purchase your copy, or to order a copy by post, please see @BlueLightSanta on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.