Cowley presents Ballycroy man with prize to watch Mayo in New York
Prize was part of a fundraising campaign for St Brendan's Village in Mulranny
Ballycroy man Thomas Lynch will be donning the green and red in Times Square this weekend after winning a trip to see Mayo play New York.
Thomas Lynch from Drumslide in Ballycroy was the lucky winner whose name was drawn from thousands of entrants in the Mulranny St Brendan's Village draw to win two tickets to New York.
The prize was donated to St Brendan's Village by Castlebar-based dentist, Dr Patricia Lonergan as part of a fundraising draw as part of a series of fundraising initiatives to raise funds for St Brendan's Nursing Unit in Mulranny which is under severe financial pressure.
The draw was made in January in Doherty's Bar in Mulranny and Thomas was presented with his prize by Dr Longergan and Dr Jerry Cowley, Chairman of St Brendan's Village last week.
A native of Co Westmeath, Thomas lived and worked for a number of years in New York where he met his wife Catherine, a native of Ballycroy. They returned to live in Ballycroy in the 1970s with their four daughters, Mary, Ann, Margaret and Catriona.
Dr Cowley congratulated Thomas on winning the prize and added he was delighted that a local person was the winner of the prize.
“We were delighted when Tom's name was picked from the drum and that local person who bought the ticket in support of St Brendan's won the prize. The local support has been phenomenal and there was a great buzz around the place. People are delighted that a local person won it. Tom is a lovely man and he is delighted to have won it. He worked in New York in his youth so it is appropriate that he would get to win a trip back to the Big Apple,” he said.
The trip for two to New York also includes two tickets to this weekend's opening round of the Connacht Championship between Mayo and New York in Gaelic Park in The Bronx in New York.
St Brendan's Nursing Unit opened in 1998 but its capacity has been reduced from 36 beds to a current capacity of 24. As a result of the income deficit from beds and increased operational costs they have been running at a financial loss.
As a result, a campaign Save St Brendan's was launched last September with fundraising drives taking place to raise money to build two extra rooms to help make the service financially viable.
Dr Cowley said the trip to New York fundraiser helped raise over €80,000 for St Brendan's Village but stressed that there was still a lot more money to raise to keep the service viable.
“We did very well from this fundraiser and I have to thank all the people who bought tickets and made donations and who were very supportive. The money raised was a great help but we certainly need more and the battle goes on to try to ensure we stay viable and people can live in their own area.
“St Brendan's is vital for the community because it provides support to people to ensure they don't have to leave their own area and can be looked after locally.
“The fundraising is going well and people are continuing to do lots of things for us. We said at the start of the campaign that we have been providing a service for 25 years and we'd like to continue for 25 more and people appreciate that and they want to help retain the service.
“People realise the service St Brendan's gives to the community and they want to support it and keep it going,” he added.