Ciara Griffin helps serve up nearly €3,000 for Cycle Against Suicide
IRELAND rugby team captain Ciara Griffin proved a popular and talented guest chef at a fundraising dinner and auction styled on the television series The Restaurant that raised almost €3,000 for supports around suicide.
Castleisland native Griffin served up a fantastic six-course fine-dining experience at Croí Restaurant in Tralee on Monday night, which drew strong praise and five stars from the guest judges, Margaret Kissane, of Connect Publications, culinary expert Mike Foley, and All-Ireland winning footballer Darragh Ó Sé.
The evening was expertly hosted by Kevin O’Connor and his staff of Croí Restaurant, with Griffin donning the chef whites in the kitchen and guests trying to guess the mystery chef with the help of a few clues.
Starters of a crab bon bon, followed by mushroom and black pudding whet the appetite and were followed by parsnip and apple soup. Guests were then treated to rib-eye steak with shallot puree, and then lemon meringue and chocolate brownie desserts.
The highlight of the evening was the auction of an original Gabriel Galway painting, which fetched €160, and the jersey worn by Ciara Griffin in the Six Nations game against Wales this year, which sold for €450 after an intense bidding war.
Tralee taxi driver Kevin Finn, who is heavily involved with Cycle Against Suicide, and local counsellor Margaret O’Halloran, who has helped organise the Spin Offs in Tralee, spoke about the work the charity does in spreading the message that ‘It’s okay not to feel okay, and it’s absolutely okay to ask for help’.
Cycle Against Suicide founder Jim Breen was among the guests on the night. A BENCH warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Cork man who was to appear before Kenmare District Court last Friday on charges of theft and fraud including stealing €20,000 from a local man and the withdrawal of a sum of money, also the property of the same victim. The offences allegedly occurred in December 2016 and March 2017.
Patrick Hurley with an address at Carhoogarriff, Leap, Cork was not in court due to a GP appointment and a bench warrant was issued for his appearance. The DPP has directed that the case be dealt with in the District Court if Mr Hurley pleads guilty, the court was told, after hearing evidence from Garda Sean Twomey of the arrest, charge and caution of Mr Hurley, who is facing four charges in total.