Promises up for auction

A SOUTH Galway school has come up with an innovative way of raising funds. Kilcolgan Educate Together is holding an auction of promises this Friday evening at Kilcolgan Castle.

The list of promises available to the highest bidder include everything from the eclectic to the exotic.
Among the variety of promises to be auctioned are a polytunnel, a family portrait, an Indian meal for 10 people, Christmas baking, a massage, allergy testing, energy healing, website construction, tickets for the Late Late Show and for a concert, 20 bags of coal, drum lessons, conversational French lessons, DIY, a stone Buddah for the garden, babysitting, Indian head massage, Reiki treatments, integrated energy therapy treatments, a garden consultation, sorting digital photos, a yoga class for up to 30 people, a table of 10 for the media and Goal balls, a birthday party for 15 children in Kilcolgan Castle including pony rides, five mature birch trees, brownies, a manicure voucher, a Christmas hamper with free range turkey and ham and wine, as well as a puppet show for a children’s party.
Those in attendance can also bid to have artist Cindy Bartley-Lund do a day’s work in their home. The well-known artist has also offered to do a pen and ink portrait of a child for a bidder.
Cindy is a decorative artist, muralist and painter, whose work has adorned the walls of corporate clients, such as Ericsson’s, The Conrad Hotel, The Galway Bay Hotel, Arnotts Department Store and Appelby’s jewellers, Dublin. Her work will no doubt prove a huge draw on the night, having attracted attention from some well-known faces including Jeremy Irons, Padraig Harrington and Michael O’Leary.
Two of her portraits hang in Forbairt’s Portrait Gallery and her most recent public work was on the Grand Canal Theatre with the prestigious decorative art and furniture design company Fassbinder and English.
“There are some great bargains to be had and original Christmas presents, not to mention a website for a business all to be auctioned on the night but we are taking bids before then. There will also be entertainment on the night, so we are hoping lots of people will come out and support the auction and the school,” said Andrew Downes, a parent of one of the children in the school.
Kilcolgan Educate Together opened in September 2008 with 20 children and two teachers. It is currently located in temporary premises at Colgan Court, Kilcolgan and is the first and only primary school in Kilcolgan village. It was set up to service the greater South Galway area, which it does with children attending from the Oranmore, Gort, Craughwell, Kinvara and Ardrahan areas. Most of the promises in the auction were made by parents of children at the school but some were donated by local businesses.
“We are trying to raise money for the school and we have never seen this done for a primary school before. There is an unbelievable array of promises available and people’s generosity was amazing. It was so good actually that we had to draw a close to it. We expect that there will be about 100 people there on Friday night and so there is only a limited amount of money,” Mr Downes concluded.
The auction of promises begins in Kilcolgan Castle at 8.30pm on Friday with music on the night by John Faulkner and Maire O’Keefe.