Siopa Ceoil helps keep Health Link Bus on the road

TUNES, raffles and an auction in Michael Herlihy’s Siopa Ceoil an Daingin will all add up to a very generous donation that will help keep the Kerry/Cork Health Link Bus on the road.

The Health Link Bus shuttles cancer patients from throughout Kerry and parts of Cork to their chemotherapy and other treatment sessions in Cork University Hospital. It’s a hugely valuable service that fills a void in State medical care and, knowing cancer patients who have benefitted greatly from being able to travel on the bus, Michael wanted to do what he could to help the cause.

From April to October he hosts four traditional concerts a week in his shop and the house is full every night with tourists drawn to the intimate setting and maybe even the complimentary Irish coffee that warms the evenings.

Both last year and this year Michael has turned one of the regular concerts into a charity night for the Health Link Bus. Along with the music, Michael holds a raffle and an auction of artworks and other items donated by supporters, who include Seán Daly of Dingle Crystal whose wife, Liz, sadly died of cancer only last week. Others who have given some of their work for auction include artists Liam O’Neill, Honora O’Neill and Tomás Ó Ciobháin, jeweller John Weldon Paul Dineen of the Dingle Dolphin shop and Gene Courtney who last year donated some very special pieces of vintage Waterford Crystal.

Aside from the charity night, Michael keeps a collection bucket in the shop and is always happy to tell visitors about the Health Link Bus and what it means to people. One woman from Minnesota was so taken by the story that she promised to donate whatever money she would have left over from her holiday. True to her word she sent €260 a few weeks later, along with a letter complimenting the work.

Last year’s concert and associated fundraising raised a total of €10,680. Money is still coming in following this year’s concert, which was held on September 11, and Michael is hopeful of coming close to last year’s figure. In the meantime donations are welcome – all you need to do is walk in the door of Siopa Ceoil an Daingin in The Colony and put your hand in your pocket.

Photo by Declan Malone Michael Herlihy outside his shop, Siopa Ceoil an Daingin, in The Colony.