South Mayo family raise €24,000 for children’s cancer charity

A South Mayo family have raised €24,000 for a local charity in memory of their son and brother.

The Loftus family in Ballinrobe raised a total of €24,020 after hosting ‘Climb for Fergal’ last May in aid of Cancer Fund for Children’s Daisy Lodge in Cong in memory of Ballinrobe native, Fergal Loftus.

The climb of Croagh Patrick saw up to 100 people take part throughout the day. 

The funds were raised through community events, online donations and donations on the very successful day, which saw walkers meet up afterwards in Campbell’s pub in Murrisk, for music and refreshments, where many shared their memories of Fergal.

A spokesperson for the Loftus family said: “The event was an overwhelming success, and we are so grateful to the large number of people who travelled to Murrisk and climbed the Reek with us on the day.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the amount raised and were very proud to be able to hand over a cheque to Mary McHugh Murphy of Cancer Fund For Children in Fergal’s memory.”

They continued: “We are extremely grateful to everyone who donated both online and cash donations, to Ballintubber GAA club who gave us the takings of a week’s lotto, to those who organised card games in The Neale and Ballinrobe along with anyone who helped us throughout the event and beyond. We are humbled by people’s generosity and kindness.”

The event raised vital funds for Cancer Fund for Children, an all-Ireland charity. 

The aim of the charity is that no child on the island of Ireland should face a cancer diagnosis alone. The charity is currently in the process of building a new facility (Daisy Lodge) on the shores of Lough Corrib in Lisloughrey.

To date, groundworks have been completed, with construction of the facility to begin soon and will take 18 months to complete.

Cancer Fund for children provide short breaks to families from the Republic of Ireland in Daisy Lodge, Newcastle, County Down. However, for every one family referred, another six families must go on a waiting list as Daisy Lodge is running at full capacity.  

It is now their vision to open a second therapeutic short break centre and welcome families for breaks within two years. This will allow the charity to increase the number of children and parents they support from 1,800 to 4,000 each year.

For further information on Cancer Fund for Children or Daisy Lodge, Cong, contact Mary McHugh Murphy, Connaught Regional Fundraiser for Cancer fund for children at mary@cancerfundforchildren.ie  or  087 944 3277.