Dancers raise €70,000 for cancer research

Fundraising steps taken by a contingent of East Clare dancers have paid off, as a locally organised strictly come dancing event yielded a staggering €70,000 for cancer research.

 

Representatives from The Mid-Western Cancer Foundation in Limerick and The Children’s Medical and Research Foundation at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin attended a special function in Tuamgraney this week, where they were presented with cheques amounting to €70,000 towards cancer research.

This marks the end of an intensive fundraising campaign throughout East Clare over the summer months, which culminated in the Strictly Come Dancing East Clare competition held in Ennis in late August. 
Spearheaded by cancer survivor and Scariff native Martina Minogue she explained the objective of the initiative was twofold.

“Firstly, I wanted to get something off the ground that would raise significant funds towards cancer research benefitting both adults and children alike. A second motive was to harness the incredible goodwill within the communities of East Clare and bring local people closer together through this common goal,” she said.

The proceeds from the event were divided between the two organisations with each benefitting from €35,000.

A special DVD of the Strictly Come Dancing East Clare event was also launched at the presentation, which is expected to raise a further €4,000 or more towards these causes. The DVD is available currently from the Ennis Bookshop, Ennis, Banes’ Gift Shop, Scariff and from the Strictly Come Dancing East Clare committee members.

A fundraising committee was established in the early summer, with 13 representatives throughout East Clare. Many committee members had themselves gone through cancer treatment in the past, or had supported loved-ones on this journey.

Together, the committee identified 13 couples to take part in the Strictly Come Dancing East Clare event; ordinary people, many of whom had little or no experience of dancing, but who agreed to take part in an intensive nine week training programme to be ready to represent their respective towns and villages in the contest. In tandem with the training programme, each community ran additional fundraising events towards the cause in the run-up to the competition, ranging from cake sales to card games, sponsored walks and raffles.

The dance competition itself was a sell-out, with over 1,200 tickets sold on the night.

Ms Minogue presented cheques this week to Professor Rajnish Gupta and Mr Gerry Cully to the value of €35,000 each.  Having worked together with the Stokes Research Institute at UL since 2004, Professor Gupta explained that the funds raised would make a real difference in their collaborative research work, where there is a particular focus on cancer diagnostics and the biology of breast and bowel cancer.

Meanwhile Mr Cully confirmed that the funding destined for Crumlin would be channelled towards progressing ongoing research into childhood cancers that frequently occur in infants and children.

“We have been overwhelmed by the support for the event and are delighted that the funds raised will help to improve the lot of cancer sufferers in the future. It bears witness to the fact that cancer has touched the lives of so many families in East Clare and beyond, and the immense goodwill that is here within our community to beat it. It has been a win-win situation for all involved,” Ms Minogue concluded.