A CORK boy who doctors believed would not live to see Christmas was at the centre of a special gesture from gardaí in honour of his bravery.

Jamie Murray from Fermoy, who is profoundly disabled, was made an honorary garda as part of the Little Blue Heroes initiative.

The special private ceremony saw Jamie receive a visit from Garda Tracy Willis and Pat Harrington from Fermoy Garda Station, who awarded him a special bravery medal. They were joined by garda dogs and a convoy of three fire trucks from Fermoy Fire Station.

Neighbours came out to salute their local hero, making sure to observe social distancing guidelines at all times. Jamie’s older brothers, Lucas and Jack, were also lauded for their bravery during what has been an excruciatingly time for the family.

Santa made his way to the event in one of the fire trucks, leaving several gifts for Jamie.

Born blind and deaf, Jamie was diagnosed with alobar holoprosencephaly (HPE), a developmental condition categorised by a failure of the brain’s frontal lobe to split into two distinct hemispheres. He also suffers from scoliosis. It was initially thought that Jamie would not survive beyond birth. More than eight years later he is still fighting.

Jamie’s mum Helena explained why the gesture meant so much to the family.

“We didn’t think that Jamie would be with us this Christmas,” she said.

Delighted to join @GardaTraffic @gardainfo and @corkcountyfire to be part of @LilBlueHeroes Honorary Garda Jamie Murray's special day as he was presented with a Garda bravery award by members of Fermoy community policing unit and @Doggypat74 of the Southern Region Dog Unit. pic.twitter.com/SqiioE4U0q

— Ger O Dea (@GerODea_NAS_CEM) December 19, 2020

“Before the first lockdown we were told to take him home because there was nothing more they could do for him. When I met the neurologist in CUH again they couldn’t believe that he was still fighting. Jamie is his own person and his own fighter. Christmas might have been a very sad time for us. 

"I can’t explain the emotions that come with waking up every morning and knowing that he is still with us. Life is so short. 

"Having Jamie here has taught us that we have to enjoy every day.”

She extended her gratitude to the whole community for making the event so special.

“The build-up to this helped us so much,” she said. “It was great to have that recognition. Little Blue Heroes do so much hard work behind the scenes and we’re really grateful.”