Claremorris Pink Day a huge success

Claremorris ‘Turn The Town Pink’ Day a huge success


Michael Commins

CLAREMORRIS Pink Day surpassed all expectations on Friday. The town was buzzing as the people of the area threw themselves wholeheartedly behind the venture. In the end the real winner was the Care to Drive programme that will be enable people to take cancer patients to and from their treatment free of charge.
An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, was given a very warm welcome on his first official visit to Claremorris since taking up the top position in Dail Éireann. “Fair play to ye!”, enthused Enda as he saluted all behind the venture, and recalling memories of the old song, Lily The Pink, from his young days.
Shane Meehan from Garrywadreen came on stage to publicly thank Enda for his help in assisting him in securing a heart procedure some days earlier. It was a poignant moment during the festivities.
The bucket collection alone yielded €10,600 while as much again if not more is expected to be added when the contributions come in from the shops over the coming days. The Irish Cancer Society has also expressed delight with the support and had lauded the Claremorris effort as “truly magnificent”.
The local community embraced the idea big-time and numerous premises as well as homes displayed pink balloons and other pink colours along the way. Radio shows featured the action live from Claremorris while cameras from TG4 and TV3 were also in town.
Among those present from the showbiz circuit were Don Stiffe, Jimmy Buckley, Gerry Carney, Lisa McHugh, James Kilbane, Eunice Moran, Monica Naughton, Peter Gannon, Ricky O’Neill, and the Duggan School of Dancing. Many of the more senior folk were also delighted to welcome Vincent Gill, formerly of the famous Royal Blues Showband, back to his home parish from Dublin on the day.
Numerous events were held in shops and business premises throughout the day and night. The Country Markets moved from the Town Hall to the streets to join the celebrations. Vintage cars lent a sense of occasion to the day. Antoinette Keane signed copies of her book My Soul which also raised funds for the Cancer Society.
Seven members of the Claremorris No Name Club, Jack Dixon, Jason Connolly, Colm Gallagher, Evan Hennelly, Megan Finn, Becky Heaney and Fiona Commins volunteered to have their hair dyed pink on stage as they raised sponsorship funds.
One of the real stars of the day was Michael ‘Elvis’ Burke, the Bohola native ‘in exile’ in Claremorris! Michael, who was the chief compere on stage, brought a humorous dimension to the proceedings and kept the show moving along at a brisk pace.
For Marie Tolan of Tesco, who pioneered the idea, it was an unforgettable day. “The whole venture surpassed our wildest dreams. There was a feel-good factor about the entire day. It lifted the spirits of everyone. We were delighted with the crowds. The weather was beautiful
and everything fell into place. It was a great honour to have Enda Kenny present as Taoiseach and he was so nice to everyone.
“The day embraced all ages and it was wonderful to see the older people, sitting around and chatting and enjoying their pink ice cones. You could feel the good humour and support everywhere in town. The Square was buzzing. We now intend to make this an annual event for a different cause each year.”