Breaking the €100,000 mark is no longer a dream...
WHEN Denis Tangney casts his mind back 7 years when the idea of staging a vintage rally to raise funds for cancer charity first popped into his head, there’s no way he could have foreseen that it would eventually break the €100,000 mark. But it has done just that.
It’s quite astonishing to think something that is essentially a personal hobby for Denis was successfully channelled into raising money for a very worthy cause. At the end of the day people like Denis - who use their own life experiences to try and help others - deserve huge credit. But Denis is the kind of man who won’t hear a word of it. Even though he’s proud of what he and his friends have managed to achieve with Mid Kerry Vintage Rally, he prefers action rather than praise.
“I am proud of what we’ve archived but I don’t believe in resting on our laurels either. It just shows what can be done when people come together. To think we used to joke years ago that one day we would ‘ break the €100,000 mark’. It’s no longer a joke, but a reality. That’s what drives us on,” Denis said.
Denis Tangney’s brush with cancer is well known at this stage for he has both battled and been bereaved by caner in his lifetime. He knows about the physical and emotional turmoil cancer can cause which is why he set about trying to do something for others on a similar journey. Many moons ago Denis and his friend,
Mike McKenna, decided to make their hobby a fundraiser and the rest is history.
“I know all about what it takes to fight it which is why I decided to do something to help others going through the same battle,” explained Denis.
Each year once the vintage rally is over and the machines have moved on, the proceeds are counted and divided between the Oncology Unit in Kerry University Hospital, Recovery Heaven, and the cancer ward at St Joseph’s in Killorglin - all of whom are very grateful to Denis and the team for the generous donation.