Ryan’s appeal for Hospice in memory of dad Jim is a triumph!

NOT for nothing was ten-year-old Ryan Murphy named Junior Kerry Person of the Year in December.

Just one year previously the Ballyduff lad, his sister Keira and brother Ben lost their beloved father, Jim Murphy, after a battle with illness.

The death of the hugely popular barman rocked Tralee and Ballyduff to the core as so many friends of Jim and his wife, Louise, rallied to the family’s side.

And the community rallied again in memory of Jim late last year, this time in support of the Kerry Hospice Foundation and its work at the Palliative Unit, where Jim received such care.

It was all thanks to Ryan and his pals at Ballincrossig National School that it did so, after they kicked off a remarkable fundraiser in November last, with great help from Principal Dianne Crean and all the staff, as well as Chairman of the Parents’ Association Dan Mahoney, whose idea the campaign was.

That fundraiser saw Ryan named Junior Kerry Person of the Year in December. But that was ever before all the funds for the campaign came in – revealed last week in a big presentation at the primary.

The month of All Souls saw the wider school community undertaking a 24-hour rolling fast, with a different pupil and/or parent keeping the fast for the day, before the next rostered faster picked it up.

You wouldn’t know Ballincrossig is a relatively small school by the level of funds Ryan and friends presented last week though.

For they handed over a cheque to Dr Patricia Sheahan and Joe Hennebery of the Hospice for an incredible €11,705.40!

“We were just overwhelmed by the response,” Ryan’s mom and Kerryman employee Louise Boyle said.

“It was incredible. Though our school is relatively small, everyone came together on it: pupils, parents, friends and all in the wider community. The response exceeded all our expectations,” Louise said.

Everyone in the school got sponsorship cards for starters, but before long people from all over started getting in contact to donate as one hell of a head of steam built up.

The success even left clever young Ryan dazzled. He told The Kerryman he was delighted with all it achieved.

“I am thrilled. I didn’t think we would raise this much, and I really want to thank everybody for supporting us.”

He said he found the fast ‘hard’. 24 hours is, of course, no small feat for an adult, never mind a young boy or girl.

Ryan’s sister, Keira, also did it, with steely resolve, as did so many of Ryan’s friends and their parents in a touching sacrifice in memory of Jim and on behalf of the vital work of the Palliative Care unit.

“How proud Jim Murphy would be, of his family and friends, with all that has been achieved for such a worthy cause in his memory,” Principal of Ballincrossig NS Dianne Crean said of an event that proved cathartic for so many.

By Domnick Walsh Ryan Murphy, centre front, with mom Louise presenting a cheque for €11,705.40 to Dr Patricia Sheehan of the Palliative Care unit, front left, and Joe Hennebery of the Hospice Foundation, front right, on behalf of all in Ballincrossig National School, Ballyduff, last week. With Principal Dianne Crean, staff and Ryan’s fellow pupils. Everyone came out in force in memory of Ryan’s late dad, Jim, in a month-long appeal involving a rolling fast across the community.Photo

Photo by Domnick Walsh One proud mom: Louise and Ryan Murphy in the Ballyduff lad’s classroom last week after he and all in Ballincrossig NS handed over a cheque for an incredible €11,705.40 – the proceeds of a fasting campaign Ryan and friends organised for the Hospice in memory of his late, much-loved dad Jim Murphy, inset.