The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Greyhound group come up trumps for cancer support in fundraising rag meeting in Listry
ON Sunday April 9 the men, women and children from the Listry Greyhound Supporters ran their annual Greyhound Rag Meeting in aid of the Kerry Cancer Support Group on the farm of Kieran Kennedy in Lahard. The event was very well supported by the greyhound community, not only in Kerry but among owners and trainers from as far away as Galway and Kilkenny who made the long journey to the foothills of the MacGillycuddy Reeks.
While being a great fundraiser for Listry GAA Club over the past 30 years, in most recent times the rag meeting has become a direct fundraiser for a very worthy charity, the Kerry Cancer Support Group. And one family steeped in the sport in Listry know only too well how important that charity is.
“Over the past five years we have been delighted to have donated in the region of €9,000 to a charity very close to the hearts of our community,” Paul Kennedy, who lost his beloved father Steve to cancer, wrote this week.
“Having spent the past five years trying to come to terms with the loss of a family member to this disease, we felt it is important to stress how absolutely vital this service is to our community. The most important part of this charity for us is in its title, ‘support’. Until you are directly faced with it and the harrowing upheaval to life as you know it, it may not be apparent what this great charity provides in terms of a service and support structures,” Paul said.
“Imagine having to travel from the far reaches of Kerry to CUH in Cork for treatment every week. You may not always have somebody to drive you, you don’t want to be a burden on the same people all the time, you feel nervous and worried about what lies ahead, the effects of the treatment will not allow you to drive safely yourself so what do you do, who can you turn to?
“That’s where you need support and that’s where the Kerry Cancer Support Bus comes in, providing daily transport to and from CUH, servicing all of Kerry and parts of Cork, totally free of charge. This ensures you don’t have to go through the journey alone; you are facing it as part of a group of people who all understand where you are coming from and can relate to battle you are fighting. What an incredible source of support to be able to offer anyone in this position, you don’t ever have to be on your own,” Paul added.
He said that Asdee native Fr Pat Moore who died just two weeks ago - really helped illuminate what cancer patients have to go through with the illness in his blog.
“The recent passing of Fr Pat Moore, former parish priest of Duagh, shone a new light on the daily struggles faced by cancer patients and their families. Father Pat kept an online blog at the caringbridge. org site throughout his battle with cancer over the past two years and even published a book called “Weathering the Storm” in late 2016, which focused on his battle with the disease.
“He bared his soul by documenting the daily trials and tribulations he went through; giving a detailed insight into the many great people he met along his journey that supported him in his battle. The blog reached thousands online and the humility with which he delivered it struck a chord with people across all generations.”
Just weeks before he died the Asdee cleric reached out in a hugely meaningful way to the fundraiser, Paul explained: “On the evening of Sunday the 9th of April, as our committee members dusted themselves down after another successful running of our Listry Fundraiser, father Pat was to make his final contribution to the Kerry Cancer support group, by donating €3,000 from the proceeds of his book to the charity. Unfortunately only a few weeks later, his two-year battle with cancer was to come to end as he slipped away on the May 1. The huge legacy of support he has left behind him will comfort cancer patients and their families long into the future,” Paul said echoing the sentiments of so many.