IN PICTURES: Laois school donates to Laura Lynn and plants tree in student's memory

A Laois school has honoured the memory of a young student who sadly died recently, with a huge contribution to charity, and a tree to grow in his memory.

Eoin Coss, 14, was a second year student at Mountmellick Community School. He died last December 10, after a brave battle with cancer. This week his bereaved schoolfriends gathered with Eoin's family and staff in the school, to plant a tree in Eoin's memory.  Read more below photos.

Present were Eoin's parents Martina and Kevin, brothers Rian and Darragh, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

His friends had been working to spruce up the school's memorial garden over the past month, under the guidance of Mountmellick Tidy Towns volunteer Kitty Creighton.

The tree planting took place on Monday afternoon, May 8.

That morning, the school had formally donated the huge sum of €15,762 to the Laura Lynn children's hospice charity, with representative Catherine accepting the cheque. The money had been raised in a week of activities and fundraisers in the school and on the street, with students doing a bucket collection, all in memory of Eoin.

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Helen Shortall is School Chaplain.

"We'd like to say a big thank you to the 5th year student committee and to Eoin's friends, the staff and local businesses who all helped to support and raise the money. 

"It was extremely important for the students to do this in Eoin's memory, it was a very special occasion," she said.