The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
$9k NY boost for Beaufort facility – but more to be done
WITH CUTS to disability funding announced just before the election by the HSE, the likes of St Mary of the Angel’s facility in Beaufort need all the support they can get.
With that in mind, another $9,250 from the Jerry Bambury Memorial golf tournament on the other side of the Atlantic will be as appreciated as ever.
Jerry passed away in 2017 but the long-running tournament has continued since then, his daughter, Joyce, told The Kerryman.
Her family’s links to the facility, which tends to the needs of those with physical and intellectual disabilities, are ever-strong. Her brother, Thomas, has lived there since 1992, when he was just shy of 17 years old. Shortly before that, the family moved from New York to Jerry’s home patch of Beaufort, as similar facilities in New York were too far from their American home.
The tournament has been held back in the States on St Mary of the Angel’s behalf since 1993, although it raised funds for similar facilities in New York prior to that.
To this day, Luke Kelly’s Bar in New York, formerly co-owned by Jerry when it was known as The Red Setter, acts as a hub to the tournament, and the most recent staging took place in December, raising well over $9,000.
“Every year, the money goes towards different projects,” Joyce said. “In recent years, funds helped complete works at St Fidelis’ and the chalets. This time around, the money will go towards works for a sensory garden and the St Brendan’s unit, where my brother is.
“The family moved over from New York before Thomas entered St Mary of the Angels, after my mother had passed away. But the competition has continued, and it is still going since my Dad died. This was the third tournament since that happened.
“I continue to liaise with the organisers in New York, including Patrick Doyle, who is a driving force.”
The funding from the 2019 tournament arrived in Beaufort in recent days, much to the gratitude of everyone involved with the Beaufort facility.
Joyce is proud that the tournament continues in her father’s name, and she pointed out that he did much fundraising work for other good causes as well, including St Francis’ Special School, where Joyce used to teach.
She is, of course, a major advocate for the work at St Mary of the Angels, and she called on the public’s support as the facility faces up to its challenges.
“The facility is massively reliant on fundraising, and the HSE cut its funding even further before the election,” she said.
“So I would also ask the public to get in touch with their politicians and put pressure on to secure more support for facilities like St Mary of the Angel’s,” she added.