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It is often said that the greatest and most rewarding thing you can do at Christmas is help others, and that is exactly what the live crib in Rathdowney, Co Laois, has done for the past 17 years. Now continuing to do so into its 18th year.
Although the term crib is a slight understatement. It is more like a small farm, there are far more animals than the original nativity in Bethlehem.
Each year the live crib raises money for a good cause and 2018 will champion three-year-old Frankie. Frankie was born with spina bifida myelomeningocele and hydrocephalus. The funds will help buy equipment he will need as he grows up.
Frankie is a wheelchair user, as is the founder of the crib, Noel Bailey. The whole 80ft structure is wheelchair accessible and Noel is keen to highlight that absolutely everyone is welcome. He worked all of his life in sugar beet and says that he simply decided to start the crib so he could give something back. Initially, when they built the first structure in his workshop, it was thatched and too big to even fit it out the door.
“I love to see the kids and their parents enjoying themselves. We have 20-year-olds coming back in because they would have come when they were younger,” explains Noel.
Along with the nativity figurines, the crib boasts four donkeys, a draft horse, a Scottish long-horned cow, sheep, goats and, of course, Santa’s reindeer. Noel keeps the animals all year around, most of them feature in the crib every year and are accustomed to people. With countless visitors over the years, those who have come to see the live crib include Daniel and Majella O’Donnell. Tommy Fleming is also expected to make an appearance this year.
The crib, located in The Square, Rathdowney, is open on weekdays at 11am-8pm and on weekends at 10am-9pm. There is no entrance fee, but buckets are located around the crib for donations.
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