GENEROSITY Rory McIlroy is pictured on Monday during putting practice ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Golf Championship at Portstewart Golf Club. Pic: Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile
Áine Ryan
GOLF star Rory McIlroy is set to back a major new initiative in Cong for children with cancer. The Cancer Fund for Children charity plans to open a short-break therapeutic facility in Cong as part of an ambitious suite of plans, which will also develop residential and community based services in other areas.
The new complex in Cong, which is at an advanced stage in the purchasing process, will cost €13.5 million, €1.2 million of which will be funded by The Rory Foundation. It will be modelled upon, and named after, the charity’s existing therapeutic short break centre, Daisy Lodge, in Newcastle, County Down.
The charity is committed to redressing gaps ‘in support for families nursing a child with cancer in Ireland’ through the introduction of its model of psycho-social support, already internationally recognised.
Since Daisy Lodge was opened in 2014, it has accommodated over 1,000 families, living with a diagnosis of childhood cancer, from all over Ireland.
“It provides them with a chance to receive specialist therapeutic support from trained practitioners and relax and spend quality time together in a unique, purpose-built, peaceful environment, far removed from gruelling cancer-treatment and hospital visits,” a spokesperson explains.
Such has its success that demand for short breaks has outstripped the available facilities. “The creation of a new therapeutic short break centre in Connacht will reduce that pressure and establishes a necessary base from which Cancer Fund for Children can deliver its community services,” she continues.
Long term goal
Speaking on behalf of Cancer Fund for Children, chairman Eddie Byrne said: “Cancer Fund for Children’s long term goal is to ensure that no family in Ireland should face a cancer diagnosis alone. Our research tells us that aside from essential medical care, families in Ireland could positively benefit from the holistic support that Cancer Fund for Children currently offer to families affected by cancer in Northern Ireland.
“We have listened carefully to our families and the social workers and health professionals who support them, and are responding to their needs and requirements. The new therapeutic short break centre in Co Mayo will be an exciting first step in a strategic longer term plan that aims to ensure that families from across Ireland have access to the support they need to cope with the impact cancer has on their lives.”
Rory McIlroy said: “Having seen Daisy Lodge in Newcastle, County Down being developed from its foundations to what it is today is amazing. I’ve been back a couple of times since it opened and the facilities are exceptional. I have no doubt it will be the same in County Mayo. I am honoured to be able to support a second project.”
Cancer Fund for Children’s plans in Ireland will replicate the services provided by Cancer Fund for Children in Northern Ireland for the last 40 years.
MORE
www.roryfoundation.com and www.cancerfundforchildren.com
