Up to 150 children from five local schools in Cork City were the special guests at a children\u2019s party hosted by the Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office this week (Tuesday, Oct 8) to celebrate its 20th anniversary.<\/p>\n
First class pupils from St Patrick’s GNS and BNS, St Brendan\u2019s GNS, St Mark\u2019s BNS and St Killian\u2019s School, descended on Mayfield Sports Centre for an afternoon of face painting, disco dancing, balloon making and much more.<\/p>\n
The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO) was established in April 2004 against the backdrop of historical neglect of children, with a remit to promote and protect the rights of all children living in Ireland.<\/p>\n
Since then a lot has improved for children but there is still much work for the OCO to do, particularly for vulnerable young people. The theme of the our 20th<\/sup> Anniversary is Tomorrow Starts with Us\u00a0<\/em>which came from the OCO Youth Advisory Panel.<\/p>\n The children\u2019s party in Cork City was an opportunity for children to have fun, and to focus on who the OCO is working for; children themselves.<\/p>\n The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, said:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to be down in Mayfield for the second of our children\u2019s anniversary parties this year and love getting to meet some of the wonderful children in the local schools.<\/p>\n