A Gallant achievement!
CHALLENGE Over €500k raised for local hospice in 20 years
After celebrating its 20th anniversary last October Halloween Bank Holiday, the Gallant Challenge committee and its chief organiser Ciaran Weir are delighted to announce that the fundraiser has surpassed the €500,000 milestone in terms of monies raised to date for St Christopher's Hospice in Cavan.
The funds come an auspicious time for the local hospice service, which is in the process of developing a major extension and refurbishment to existing facilities.
Partnered by the Health Service Executive (HSE), St Christopher’s will be upgraded to a Specialist Palliative Inpatient Unit and integrated with existing homecare services provided in Cavan and Monaghan.
Cavan and Monaghan are two of the last counties in Ireland that do not have a full hospice service. The proposed new build will incorporate 16 bedrooms and other upgrades to greatly enhance the end-of-life palliative care experience for patients and their families.
The building costs are funded by local donors like The Gallant Challenge, as well as the HSE and the Department of Health.
“It's big news for Cavan and Monaghan because people have to go to Sligo or Dublin but, to have something like that on our doorstep, is brilliant,” says Ciaran, who began the fundraiser when he was a student at Cavan Institute.
A curious student, Ciaran dropped into the building to see first hand the services provided there.
“I was inspired by what I saw and it really hit home how privileged I was to be fit and well,” recalls Ciaran, who then set about organising a 15-kilometre walk from Cavan to Cornafean.
The name he chose in memory of the great Cornafean and Cavan GAA Star John Joe O’Reilly.
Aside from Covid years, the challenge has run off successfully every year since. Ciaran says the event embodies the very best of what Cavan is about. “It's the community spirit and the generosity of people that has made this happen. People with not a lot to give, digging deep, because they see that the hospice has maybe been there for their family, or friend, or someone close.” He adds that the plans to build is one thing, but fundraising for the project, which will cost millions, “needs to continue”.
Along with the Gallant Challenge walk, Ciaran has also helped organise lots of other fundraising events from coffee mornings to quizzes, tractor runs, shave or dye nights, raffles, drama nights, sing songs, comedy nights, variety Shows, as well as music nights.
Ciaran adds: “They've been very lucky with the HSE and getting a certain amount of funding but the likes of what they're hoping to build here is going to cost big money. Not only that but the cost of maintaining it into the future will cost money as well. We really need the people of Cavan and Monaghan to get behind this. The hospice is so important and the work the people there do is incredible."
Cavan golfer and Solheim Cup hero Leona Maguire was last year appointed patron of St Christopher’s and her profile is also helping to raise funds for the hospice.
“For me the joy of fundraising is in meeting people and the craic over the years. It's something that has lived with me. To reach 20 years and to see the funds top half a million is brilliant. But it's not my achievement, it's down to the people and it's something to be very thankful for," concludes Ciaran.