Community Honors Belfast Dad with Amazing Fundraiser

A Belfast school has honored the memory of a young Belfast dad, who died suddenly from a heart attack just over a year ago. John Taggart, from the Shankill Road area, passed away in the early hours of Sunday, January 21, 2024 at the age of 38. He left behind a heartbroken mother, Ann; two young children, Taylor and Katie; his loving partner Linda; three sisters, Margaret, Ann and Christine; two brothers Hughie and Billy, and his many nieces and nephews.

Fundraiser in Memory of John Taggart

The well-known man started landscape gardening when he was just 12 years old - with just a strimmer and lawnmower to his name. That passion for hard work developed over the years, and eventually led him to create his own business, JT Property Services. John’s daughter’s school, Cliftonville Integrated Primary School, recently did a walk fundraiser in his memory in aid of Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke, a charity very dear to the family. They raised a fantastic £5,500, a really great achievement as they were hoping to raise £1,000 and smashed this target.

Community Support

Cliftonville Integrated Primary School Bill Fletcher said: 'We have been totally blown away by the generosity of parents, staff and children. There is no doubt that Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke is a charity that has helped so many, including many parents and staff at our school. It is also a charity that has saved countless lives through their research and health checks. I am so proud of the efforts of our entire school community in raising this colossal amount of money for such a worthy cause.' Gavin Adams, Director of Income Generation at NICHS, added: 'We are very thankful to the children, parents and staff of Cliftonville Integrated Primary School for supporting our charity and for raising such a tremendous sum of money. It is a wonderful achievement and will make a real difference to local communities across Northern Ireland.'

Today, there are at least 400,000 people living with a chest, heart or stroke condition in Northern Ireland - that's one in four of the population. Almost 90% of our income comes from public donations so fundraising efforts like Cliftonville Integrated Primary School’s are vital for our charity and what we can achieve. The funds raised will enable us to continue to help the local community and provide life-changing services for people living with chest, heart and stroke conditions and their families.'