Tag Archives: charity

WEST Clare mother Josipa Akinradewo knows only too well the joy that the Team Hope annual Christmas Shoebox Appeal can bring. As a young girl living in Croatia while her father fought in its War of Independence she was one of those to receive a precious gift from a stranger overseas. That experience stayed with her, and now preparing a shoebox for others has become an annual tradition she shares with her own children. This year because of Covid-19 the experience will be very different, with people being asked to build a ‘virtual box’ online to be given to children in need in Africa and Eastern Europe. However, this has not taken away the spirit of the initiative which has brightened the lives of so many, and Josipa is encouraging others to get involved. Josipa, her husband and two children have been living in Ireland for five years. A year after their arrival her son brought home a leaflet about …

EVENTS this summer are cancelled across the globe, but Relay for Life Ennis is keeping their promise not to give up until cancer does.   Instead of gathering at Tim Smythe Park, Relay for Life Ennis will be gathering virtually this year to help raise awareness and needed funds for the Irish Cancer Society. On Saturday, June 20 the Ennis community are asked to Relay from Home.  Auriol Considine, Relay for Life Ennis Chairperson, explains, “Relay for Life Ennis has grown into an important community event, and we didn’t want that community spirit to lose momentum. The virtual event is themed ‘24 for Life’ as the event runs typically for 24 hours. Everyone can get involved with activities related to the theme; do 24 laps of the garden, bake 24 cupcakes, sing 24 songs or 24 of anything else you enjoy doing. We are also running a children’s art competition with pictures of being at home for 24 hours. We’re encouraging …

IN 2009 Brian Hogan suffered severe brain damage after an unprovoked attack left him blind and partially paralysed. However, he hasn’t let that stop him. Brian who lives in Acquired Brain Injury’s (ABI) residential service in Clarecastle has gone from needing to use a wheelchair to taking on a mammoth walkathon challenge. Brian has vowed to walk the equivalent of 20 laps of Thomond Park, and just last weekend he surpassed his fundraising target of €10,000 for ABI, with donations still coming in. He will be taking on his final lap in style early next month, walking around the famous Thomond Park rugby pitch. Speaking about the fundraiser, Brian explains, “My fitness levels prior to my assault in 2009 were excellent as I attended the gym four times a week. I swam, ran and cycled. I was a non-smoker and in excellent health. As a result of my Acquired Brain Injury I suffered a right-side hematoma causing left sided weakness. …

AN Ennis woman and some friends are putting their best foot forward and stepping in behind the county’s frontline healthcare workers. Gillian Davis Dunphy has organised a walking challenge which will see her and others complete 100,000 steps each within 24 hours this weekend. Funds from the endeavour will be split between Cahercalla Hospice and Sláinte An Chláir, (Clare Cancer Support) with more than €1,000 raised already. “The people who work on the front line, they’re walking in tough shoes and the least we can do is a few hours of a walk for them. We hope that by taking these steps and putting ourselves through one uncomfortable day we can help the workers who have to do even more difficult tasks day after day for our loved ones,” she says. “I set a target of €500, and thought if I got that I’d be delighted, but we’re way above it and donations are still coming in. I know there …

FIVE sports clubs in Newmarket-on-Fergus are joining forces in a bid to unite their community and raise funds for charities. Newmarket-on-Fergus GAA, Newmarket Celtic, Newmarket-on-Fergus camogie, Newmarket-on-Fergus ladies’ football and Newmarket-on-Fergus handball have come together and using the slogan ‘Staying apart but coming together’, have launched the Newmarket-on-Fergus 500 Mile Challenge. Over the weekend, individuals will clock up a mile each with the target of hitting 500 miles. Each participant is asked to donate €10 and can do so online through GoFundMe via any of the club’s social media channels. All funds raised are going towards the Newmarket-on-Fergus based South Clare Meals on Wheels, Bunratty Search and Rescue, Newmarket-on-Fergus Men’s Shed, Sláinte an Chláir and Pieta. Mark O’Malley of Newmarket Celtic said, “We’re kind of idle at the moment; all the lads are doing their own training and stuff. With it being so quiet, why not come together and do something for the community? Darren Duggan set up the GoFundMe …

IT’S a long way from Clare to Kildare, and one youngster who certainly knows that is fifth class Ennis National School student Aoife Keane. Aoife has just completed a mammoth cycling challenge taking in the 165km distance between both counties. Amazingly, she cycled the entire length of the route from her garage at home, raising funds for Clare Crusaders and Barretstown. So far she has raised more than €2,000 for the charities and donations can still be made for the next few weeks. While others might be exhausted after the endeavour, the 11-year-old revealed that she celebrated her triumphant end to the cycle by jumping on the family’s trampoline. She laughed, “I hadn’t been allowed on it before the cycle in case I injured myself.” Aoife moved from Naas with her parents Marie and John and younger brother Eoin to their new home of Ennis last year, with the cycle route taking in the distance between her new and old …

TEN-year-old Shannon boy Alex O’Shaughnessy is currently in Essen, Germany, receiving Proton Beam Therapy. It’s a cutting edge treatment for rare disease Embroyonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, which Alex was diagnosed with earlier this year. The family arrived in Germany on August 13 and on Wednesday, Alex’s mother, Agnes, said he had received 20 sessions of the Proton Beam Therapy, with 11 more left. He has also had a cycle of chemotherapy while in Germany and will have another before he returns to Ireland. “It’s only about half an hour a day for the treatment. There is one day-a-week where he sees the doctors and there are a couple of dressing changes. It’s just one day-a-week when we’re there for most of the day,” said Agnes. Alex has coped quite well with the treatment. “He’s good. There have been some minor side-effects. He’s having it near his throat, so there are some little issues but they are well on top of things here …

EVEN in the darkest days a gesture of kindness can bring some light. An Ennistymon family who tragically lost their daughter last year, are helping to make this Christmas a little bit brighter for others in an amazing act of generosity. Amy Dutil-Wall and her partner Vincent Wall from Ennistymon have endured the deepest of tragedies with the loss of Estlin Luna just before her fourth birthday in a car crash last year that also left Vincent fighting for his life. In honour of Estlin, the family have decided to donate some Christmas gifts to two worthy young girls around her age. Amy explains that she got the idea after seeing a number of offers of help to those in need on the Clare Free to a Good Home site. “It was something I was thinking of doing for a while, to give a gift in honour of Estlin and I thought why not this year. The holidays can be …