110,000 reasons to give thanks
A DUHALLOW woman who suffered the loss of her entire family when a suicidal driver ploughed into them on their way home from holidays has managed to raise over €100,000 for charity.
Elber Twomey, the sole survivor of her family, underwent 19 separate operations in the wake of the 2012 horror.
However, Elber (pictured above right) and her “mighty team” in Rockchapel and Meelin began fundraising in 2013 and have now raised €110,000 for various charities.
As they handed over the latest cheques, to the 3Ts charity, this week, Elber was fulsome in her praise of all those who have supported the annual Twomey Family Remorial Weekend.
“I personally owe a huge debt of gratitude and I know only too well that Connie, Baba Oisin and the Little Lady are smiling down to see the way in which they are being honoured and remembered each year,” Elber told The Corkman.
WHEN it comes to digging deep to help those in need - the people in Duhallow have it in spades. The Twomey Family remorial fundraiser has now raised just over €110,000 – and it is all thanks to the generosity and heart of the people from Duhallow.
This year, the third Twomey Family remorial raised €18,600.
More than 4,000 people from counties including Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, Waterford, Galway, Kilkenny, Meath, Dublin, Donegal, and Kildare have taken part over the three years.
In 2013 when it was launched in memory of Connie, Oisin and Elber Marie Twomey who lost their lives to a suicidal driver in 2012 when they were on their way home from a family holiday in England.
After their death, Connie’s wife Elber, her brother Tomas, and two of Connie’s closest friends Thomas Mahony and Gerard Angland along with Dan O’Connor, Johnny Stack and Finbarr Murphy set the weekend up.
As Elber has always stated the core of the fundraiser is and will always be to promote the reality of how precious life is and to raise awareness for mental health.
The fundraising group decided to raise funds for the hospitals which catered for the Twomey family and in particular Elber as she stayed with Connie for 10 months until he passed away at CUH. Bru Columbanus provides a home-fromhome accommodation for relatives of seriously ill patients in Cork hospitals and it is where Elber and her brother Tomas stayed.
She told The Corkman that until the tragedy which fell on her family, she never even knew that Bru Columbanus existed.
Other charities which benefited have been the 3Ts, Pieta House, Reach Out, Suicide Aware Cork and ‘Walk In My Shoes,’ have all received a share of the €110,000 raised.
The money was raised from three annual remorial weekends in Meelin andRockchapel, north Cork between 2014 and 2016.
The fundraising events comprised of two sponsored cycles which were organised by Johnny Stack and Kanturk Cycling Club. There was also a 5km run organised by Finbarr Murphy and Duhallow Athletic Club.
In addition, there was the Connie Twomey Memorial Cup under 12 hurling blitz and the table quiz organised by Aonghus MacDomhnaill, and there was also a 5k family walk.
“We were thrilled to have Newmarket Motors support our Twomey Family Remorial Weekend this year,” said Elber.
Other local businesses also got on board, which included O’Keefe’s Supervalu and KD’s in Newmarket who have been invaluable support each year.
Lots of companies from near and far have also been most generous also. These include Barry Group in Mallow, BBM Security, Brudairs Bakery, Barry’s Tea, Twomey’s Bakery, ADA Security, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Ballygowan, The Devon Inn Hotel, Ducon Concrete, Kanturk Creamery, Brennans bread, Pat the Baker, Fyffes, Largo Foods and Twohigs.
The shops and pubs in Meelin and Rockchapel have each year been fantastic in their help and support. These include Pat Callaghan’s in Meelin, Paddy Mollys and and Murphys Bar in Rockchapel, along with Keogh’s & Murphy’s in Rockchapel, and Cahills and Brosnan’s in Meelin.
Elber as always is very thankful to all the help and support which she has received from the local community in Duhallow.
“The GAA have always come on board also and give great help as indeed many men and women in both Rockchapel and Meelin who make sure the roads are well-manned to the countless people who roll up their sleeves and make sandwiches for the participants. “To everyone who has helped, including my own amazing fundraising committee, I personally owe a huge debt of gratitude and I know only too well that Connie, Baba Oisin and the Little Lady are smiling down to see the way in which they are being honoured and remembered each year in our Twomey Family Remorial Weekend,” said Elber.