The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Family’s loss turns into a funding boost for Hospice
CHEERS echoed around the sales ring in Dingle mart on Saturday as a family’s personal tragedy turned into a brilliant achievement in the battle against cancer.
The tragedy was the death last January of Cáit Ashe from Glen Minard. In the last 18 months of her life Cáit received great care from Kerry Hospice Foundation’s palliative care unit in Tralee as she battled cancer, and to help the Foundation continue its work she had wanted to donate an in-calf heifer from the family’s farm.
Amid their grief following Cáit’s death, her husband Gerard, and daughters Geraldine, Deirdre and Gráinne set about fulfilling her wish, but felt that rather than selling a heifer they could raise more money by running a fundraising draw.
The draw for a Belgian Blue cow and her calf was launched at the start of July and from then up to last Saturday the family and their many friends and supporters have been selling tickets at fairs, festivals and every kind of gathering throughout the county.
The fruit of their labour was seen at Dingle mart on Saturday where it was announced to great applause that between their ticket sales and a bingo night held in Ventry last month, €36,178 was raised for Kerry Hospice Foundation’s new 15bed in-patient specialist care unit which is currently being built at Kerry University Hospital.
The draw for Hannah and Harry (the Belgian Blue and her calf ) was carried out with great ceremony by Máiréad Lavery of the Farmers Journal who announced to the eager assembly at the mart sales ring that the winner was Diarmuid Begley from Dingle. Geraldine Ashe phoned Diarmuid straight away to inform him of his good luck but, answering from Tenerife where he was on holiday, he seemed a little sceptical until a great cheer from the crowd convinced him that this was no hoax.
Diarmuid had no home for Hannah and Harry and took the option of having the animals sold at the mart. They were auctioned immediately and sold to Pádraig Martin who paid a generous €2,000.
“Never, in our wildest dreams, did we expect the re- sponse that we got,” Geraldine Ashe said of the family’s fundraising campaign. “The generosity and goodwill shown by the people of West Kerry and beyond has been unbelievable and has shown us that people are very kind and very willing to support this very worthy cause.”
Thanking all those who sponsored and helped with the draw as well as all who bought tickets, she added: “Your money is going towards the €6.2 million that is needed for the 15-bed in-patient unit that is being built at the hospital in Tralee… You all had a part to play in helping us to carry out Mom’s wish. From the bottom of our hearts, gura mile maith agaibh.
“We hope that we have raised awareness about the financial support that this cause needs in order to provide the care and the comfort that the terminally ill need, as well as their families. We also hope that we have raised awareness about the wonderful work that Kerry Hospice do for the terminally ill. We will be forever grateful to them for what they did for Mom and she said it herself many times that the donation of an in-calf heifer would be a very small price to pay.”
Kerry Hospice Foundation Chairman Ted Moynihan, who attended the draw at Dingle mart, said many people do amazing work to help the Hospice Foundation but the Ashe family’s fundraising effort was one of the most innovative initiatives he has ever seen. “Great credit is due to them. They put a lot of hard work into it and, as well as raising so much money, they generated huge publicity for the Hospice, both in Kerry and throughout the country.”