Seven-year-old Adam King, who captured the hearts of the nation with his virtual hug on the RTÉ Late Late Toy Show, is to receive a Pride of Cork award.
The youngster from Killeagh, Co Cork, has a brittle bone condition called osteogenesis imperfecta. This is a rare, life-long genetic condition of bone and connective tissue.
The organisers of the award have said Adam is being honoured because he inspired the nation at a time of great uncertainty and difficulty.
They also praised him for raising more than €266,000 for Cork University Hospital Charity and Temple Street Foundation, through the sale of special virtual-hug Valentine’s day cards, and for his warm, captivating personality.
“His engaging way of communicating with people, how he treats everybody around him and the way that he has spoken about the things that he is dreaming about including his dream to work with Nasa” were also commended by the organisers.
“Adam King is one of those very special little boys who has an amazing story of courage, determination and passion for making other people smile,” they said.
“Adam is truly deserving of a Pride of Cork award so that we can all say a huge thank you to him for everything he has done in this past year in particular and pass on to him all the virtual hugs in the world for a fulfilling life that we know he has ahead of him.”
International recognition
Such was his profile over the last year that Adam received a letter from president of the United States Joe Biden, praising him for his great work in introducing virtual hugs to the nation and the world during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin also wore a ‘hug for you’ badge during their virtual St Patrick’s Day meeting and had encouraged Adam to follow his dream to work with Nasa.
Adam is a regular patient at Temple Street Hospital where he receives bisphosphonate infusions to strengthen his bones.
He has been embraced by the public since his Toy Show appearance.
Following his first appearance on the Toy Show, Adam received a message from retired astronaut Chris Hadfield who said he was hugely impressed by the youngster.
“The way that you spoke, the way that you treated everybody around you, the way that you showed us the things that you are dreaming of, I found it really inspiring.”
Adam will receive his award at the Pride of Cork Awards on November 25th in the Clayton Hotel in the city. Other recipients include cervical cancer campaigner Stephen Teap, broadcaster Paul Byrne of Virgin Media News and 11-year-old twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf who were born conjoined and were separated in a 14-hour operation.