St Colman’s Care Centre – Achill Half-Marathon beneficiary

St Colman’s celebrates 25th anniversary


Anton McNulty

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of St Colman’s Care Centre and in those 25 years it has provided a service to the Achill community which it would no longer be able to do without.
St Colman’s Care Centre has been chosen as the local beneficiary of the Achill Half-Marathon and its Chairperson, Dr Bernadette O’Leary said they were delighted to be associated with this year’s marathon.
St Colman’s Voluntary Committee was established in 1986, to develop and manage health care and personal social services for older and disabled people on Achill Island.  The organisation has since remained responsible for the provision of a comprehensive network of care services and social programmes supporting the older population of the Achill parish.
St Colman’s raises between €80,000 to €100,000 a year just to keep their services going and Dr O’Leary explained that with grant-aid not as plentiful as it once was, fundraising was increasingly important to voluntary organisations.
“We are delighted to be associated with the Achill Half-Marathon because the funds will be very welcome. In these times of recession our grants have been reduced significantly and we will depend more on fundraising efforts to continue to provide our services to the community.
“If we were looking for funding before for a vehicle we would get about €6,000 from the National Lottery but in the last couple of years we have got nothing. Being associated with the Achill Half-Marathon will not just help us financially but will also help raise awareness of the services we provide,” she explained.
Next December, St Colman’s will be celebrating its 25th anniversary and it had planned to be celebrating by moving into their new state-of-the-art centre in Bunnacurry. However due to the contractor, Cordil going into liquidation the work is currently at a ‘standstill’ and a new contractor will have to be sourced.
Dr O’Leary admitted they were disappointed the work has stopped but she is confident the centre will be built in the near future. She said it was essential because of its central location on the island but will offer more services which they are unable to provide in their current home in Keel.
Despite this hiccup, Dr O’Leary and her team are looking forward to July 2 and will be present on the day to give information on their needs and service.