Mum’s heartbreaking tribute as son, 8, dies after breaking his arm at school

A mother has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her eight-year-old son who died after breaking his arm at school. Matthew Breen, from Rathnew, County Wicklow, passed away on November 17 after sustaining two fractures. He was taken to hospital in an ambulance on November 6, and mum Ciara brought her boy back the next day for surgery. Matthew then started to feel unwell upon admission, and was prescribed tablets and steroids, but vomited all day.

Because he was having trouble with his breathing, he was given an appointment with a lung specialist the following Tuesday. However, he deteriorated on the Monday and stopped breathing. He was rushed to Crumlin Hospital in Dublin and put on a life support machine, but later died. Now, Ciara has described her son as the “sweetest little boy”, who was loved by everyone who knew him, including his brothers and sisters, Tyler, Oliver, Olivia, and Amelia.

“Matthew was heart warming and hated anyone to be upset and would always make sure everyone was happy,” she told The Sun.

“If someone was being mean to him, he would say they were only messing because he didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.

“He loved school and loved his teachers; he would never complain about anything and would always tell family he loved them.

“He didn’t have a bad bone in his body. He was so caring towards little babies and loved cuddling and telling stories to his younger siblings.”

He loved to watch football with his dad, Ciara added, and was a huge Liverpool fan.

Matthew’s laughter would light up a room, and he loved telling jokes to make people happy, the grieving mother also said.

Her sister-in-law Lauren Frampton has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to raise money to support the family.

She wrote: “Matthew was the most loving little boy. He was only 8. He is missed and loved by so many people. Matthew has two brothers and two sisters, and Matthew was the eldest. This GoFundMe is to help Matthew’s family against the financial stress.

“He was the most heart-warming boy and will be missed and was loved by all who knew him!

“As a community, we’ve all pulled together, and anything as little as anything would really help this family through this difficult time.”

More than €16,000 has been raised so far at the time of writing.