13 August 2025
A giant pair of yellow spectacles is making its way through Northern Ireland this summer – with a mission to visit every optometry practice in the nation.
Organised by Optometry Northern Ireland, the Big Spectacle Relay has a dual purpose: to raise money for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), whilst also spreading awareness of the importance of eye health and highlighting how important optometrists are in the community.
Brian McKeown, chair of Optometry Northern Ireland, has organised the campaign. He told OT: “We're doing this to raise awareness of eye care and promote all community optometrists.
“We also hope to raise money for RNIB, for all the good work that they do.”
The spectacles began their journey in Coleraine on 1 August, and had visited 58 practices by 12 August.
McKeown’s aim is that they stop by every practice in Northern Ireland, of which there are approximately 260, before National Eye Health Week begins on 22 September.
McKeown hopes that the spectacles will also make it to Ulster University’s optometry department for a photograph with students before the week begins, as well as visiting the Northern Ireland Optometric Society’s conference, which is taking place in Ballycastle from 20–21 September.
They are expected to finish their journey at Stormont, where Optometry Northern Ireland is holding an event with members of the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday 23 September.
The event will showcase the work that optometrists carry out in the community, and highlight technology that is used in practice, such as optical coherence tomography.
McKeown also hopes to share findings from a recent survey of primary care optometrists that has been carried out by Ulster University during the Stormont event.
A spec-tacular journey
Both multiple and independent practices are taking part in the spectacles’ journey, McKeown said, with community optometrists working together to try and see how far the can travel.
He hopes the campaign will bring light to “the work that is done in towns, villages and cities, to help people look after their eyes, and highlight the importance of eye health.”
“There are lots of people out there in the community who don’t get their eyes tested, and they really should,” McKeown said.
He also noted that, as the new chair of Optometry Northern Ireland, the campaign is allowing him to visit practices and meet practitioners in person.
McKeown is stepping in to move the spectacles along when practitioners are unable to, he told OT.
“Campaigns like this might catch one parent who might then say, ‘kids, let’s go and get your eyes tested before going back to school,’” McKeown said: “That’s the whole premise.”
He added: “The bigger reason is to try and show that there are NHS sight tests out there, there are private sight tests – just look after your eyes. You only get one set of them.”
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