{"id":521926,"date":"2026-06-28T00:10:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T00:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/521926\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T00:10:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T00:10:41","slug":"they-saved-my-son-broadcaster-ivan-martin-on-32-years-as-chair-of-little-heroes-charity-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/521926\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They saved my son\u2019: Broadcaster Ivan Martin on 32 years as chair of Little Heroes charity \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran broadcaster Ivan Martin is stepping down as chair of the charity that helped save his son more than three decades ago.<\/p>\n

The former Downtown Radio presenter and DJ, who has been involved with Little Heroes since its earliest days, said the time was right to hand over the reins after helping guide the organisation through a major rebrand and period of growth.<\/p>\n

Ivan\u2019s connection to Little Heroes, the official charity of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, began when his son James, the Oscar-winning star of An Irish Goodbye, underwent major surgery there as a young child.<\/p>\n

One of the doctors involved in James\u2019s care was consultant Stephen Potts, whose treatment left a lasting impression on the family.<\/p>\n

\"‘They<\/a>\"Restaurant<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were great with James,\u201d Ivan recalled.<\/p>\n

\"IvanIvan Martin became involved with Little Heroes after son James underwent treatment at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children as a young child.
\nPICTURES: COLM LENAGHAN <\/p>\n

\u201cThey couldn\u2019t have done more for him, they saved him really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following James\u2019s treatment, Ivan was approached about becoming more involved with the charity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came to me and said, \u2018With your media experience and profile, it\u2019d be great to have you on the board,\u2019\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo of course I said yes. Stephen and the staff at the children\u2019s hospital had just done me the biggest favour of my life \u2013 there was no way I was going to say no.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few years later, Ivan was asked to become chair. Despite initially questioning whether others might be better qualified for the role, he agreed and has remained at the helm ever since.<\/p>\n

For James, now 34, the hospital staff and charity played a significant role during a difficult period in his childhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was only wee, so I don\u2019t remember everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a problem with my reflux and Stephen looked after me really well.<\/p>\n

Read more: First of its kind auction in Northern Ireland showcases four Banksys, an original Picasso and a taxidermy lion<\/a><\/p>\n

\"IvanDuring his 32 years with Little Heroes, Ivan Martin helped oversee major fundraising projects including a \u00a31.4 million campaign for an MRI scanner.
\nPICTURES: COLM LENAGHAN <\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here right now without them.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Ivan\u2019s family benefited directly from the care available at the children\u2019s hospital, one of the things he found most rewarding over the years was helping ensure other families received the same support.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt meant a lot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re involved in fundraising, it can be hard work at times, but when you\u2019ve been on the other side of it as a parent, you understand exactly why it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now approaching his 75th birthday in January, Ivan said he began reflecting on whether it was time for someone else to take the organisation forward.<\/p>\n

Despite spending more than three decades with the charity, he insists the role never felt like a burden.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never hated it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never thought, \u2018Oh God, I\u2019ve got another meeting this morning\u2019. Never.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IvanIvan Martin says Little Heroes is in a strong position as he prepares to hand over to new chair Paul Jackson.
\nPICTURES: COLM LENAGHAN <\/p>\n

Alongside chief executive Mary McCall and the wider board, he helped oversee a major overhaul of the charity, including its transition from Helping Hand to Little Heroes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were looking at all areas, governance, finance, the changing world of rules and regulations around charities – we were really giving the whole organisation a good spring clean,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re involved in fundraising, it can be hard work at times, but when you\u2019ve been on the other side of it as a parent, you understand exactly why it matters<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Ivan Martin<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I knew I didn\u2019t want to leave the charity until it was in a healthy state, but this rebrand to Little Heroes has worked really well and we\u2019re now in a great position where we\u2019re continuing to grow – which is unusual in the current climate for charities.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it seemed to me that with all the re-organisation that had been done that perhaps the fossil at the head of the table should move aside and let someone else have a go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can leave with a clear conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his time as chair, Ivan helped oversee projects ranging from the purchase of specialist medical equipment to a successful campaign which raised \u00a31.4 million for an MRI scanner at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.<\/p>\n

Read more: \u2018A lot of stuff has happened for us in Belfast\u2019: Kingfishr on Anthony Boyle, Killeagh and the difficult second album<\/a><\/p>\n

\"IvanVeteran broadcaster Ivan Martin is stepping down as chair of Little Heroes after more than three decades with the children’s hospital charity.
\nPICTURES: COLM LENAGHAN <\/p>\n

The scanner addressed what had been a significant gap in provision, with the hospital previously being the only regional children\u2019s centre in the UK without one.<\/p>\n

The charity has also funded practical initiatives designed to make life easier for young patients, including providing tablets for children staying on wards.<\/p>\n

Yet despite those achievements, some of Ivan\u2019s fondest memories involve the more unusual fundraising efforts organised over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided we were going to try and break the world record for the world\u2019s largest sandcastle,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we took over Benone Beach and we had all these people building this huge sandcastle and people from the Guinness Book of Records there saying, \u2018You need another 20 feet\u2019, which had us frantically shovelling more and more sand.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that really was so much fun, and we did actually break the record in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BelfastBelfast actor James Martin with his father Ivan. Picture Mal McCann. <\/p>\n

Another memorable fundraising campaign involved visiting volunteers at Tesco stores across Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could take you to Tescos in places I didn\u2019t even know were places,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n

Looking back, Ivan said those experiences taught him one of the most important lessons of his three decades with the charity.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do good and have fun at the same time and that\u2019s key.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to feel like revising for exams, a necessary evil for a good result \u2013 in this area you can get a good result and enjoy getting to that point.<\/p>\n

Read more: \u2018I was never so Irish until I left Ireland\u2019: How a Belfast woman built a new life in Florida<\/a><\/p>\n

\"IvanOscar-winning actor James Martin joined his father to reflect on the charity’s impact on their family. PICTURES: COLM LENAGHAN <\/p>\n

\u201cIt really has been such a pleasure and privilege to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he prepares to step away, Ivan believes the charity is in safe hands.<\/p>\n

His successor, consultant Paul Jackson, has already embraced the role with enthusiasm, recently abseiling from Fair Head as part of a fundraising challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019ll do a brilliant job,\u201d Ivan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe understands the hospital, the trust and the charity, and more importantly, he has the appetite for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although James continues to support a range of charitable causes as an ambassador for Mencap Northern Ireland and The Corrymeela Community, he admits he has no plans to follow his father\u2019s path into charity leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m too busy,\u201d he laughed when asked whether he would ever consider becoming chair.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his time with Little Heroes, Ivan said he remains optimistic about the organisation\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident it will continue to grow and go from strength to strength,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"MrMr Stephen Potts, Ivan Martin, Dr Mark Reid, Dr Paul Jackson and Mary McCall, Little Heroes NI <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019ll enjoy watching it from the outside looking in.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Although Ivan is handing over the reins, his legacy will remain firmly woven into the charity\u2019s future through the newly created Ivan Martin Family Support Fund.<\/p>\n

Created in recognition of his 32 years of dedication, the fund ensures his name will live on in helping families through some of the most challenging moments of their lives.<\/p>\n

The new initiative will provide \u00a325,000 annually to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children\u2019s social work team, enabling them to offer emergency financial assistance to families facing hardship while caring for a sick child. <\/p>\n

The fund aims to ensure that no family has to face the financial pressures associated with a child\u2019s hospital stay alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we will dearly miss Ivan\u2019s leadership, this special fund ensures his spirit of compassion remains a permanent fixture on the hospital wards,\u201d said Mary McCall of Little Heroes NI.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran broadcaster Ivan Martin is stepping down as chair of the charity that helped save his son more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4501,3221,93,61,60,2370,700],"class_list":["post-521926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-belfast","tag-charity","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-james-martin","tag-radio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}