Revamp welcomed for St Christopher’s Hospice

A cheque presentation for St Christopher’s Hospice took place on Friday evening in the Cavan Crystal Hotel.

Three Cavan men raised €7,000 for St Christophers Hospice, which provides respite and end of life care to patients with long term-illnesses.

The facility, located at the Loreto wood, is upgrading its services for the people of Cavan and Monaghan.

Chairperson of St Christopher’s Hospice, Jim Lalor, hopes work on the new 16-bed facility will begin in May or June and be “up and running” for patients in the first quarter of 2025.

“It’s a super development for Cavan and Monaghan,” he said.

The new facility will be partly funded by the Government and the work of voluntary groups. Mr Lalor praised the “hard work done by voluntary groups” in aid of the hospice.

One such group is ‘The Condor Team’ consisting of John Magee, Brian McCormack and Michael ‘Bricker’ Wall who undertook the ‘Off the Grid Island Challenge’ to raise funds for the hospice.

At Friday evening’s cheque presentation, Cavan Institute tutors John and Brian relayed their experiences of undertaking the challenge.

The pair set the scene; it’s mid-November, cold and wet with temperatures near freezing. The trio landed on Inch Island by boat.

Their materials consisted of sleeping bags, a plastic sheet, large white meal sacks, square blocks of foam and carpet. They also took bananas, cereal bars, water and a eucalyptus candle in the hopes of keeping insects and nightlife away.

“I’m a wildlife enthusiast myself,” John commented.

“But that’s not to say I want them up beside me,” he laughed.

The trio spent two nights on the island with no phones and basic supplies to sustain themselves with the aim of raising money for St Christopher's Hospice.

“November is a dark month and it’s a challenging month,” John said.

With wind and rain, the men didn't get much sleep. The second day of their escapade was spent repairing their make-shift canopy; a plastic sheet tied to four trees, to avoid the rain coming in. Between repairs, the men chatted and enjoyed their surroundings.

Despite nearly rolling into the water one night, John said he would absolutely undertake the challenge again.

"Coming out of it I was calm, and I got a sense of great fulfilment,” he said.

“It was nice to get away with no phones, no watches, no computers,” Brian added.

Plans for a second fundraising excursion ‘Off the Grid Extreme’ are in the making but are currently under wraps.

John explained what drives him to fundraise for St Christpoher's Hospice.

“I’m coming sixty-two in July, there’s an awful lot of guys that I’ve worked with in the last ten years that are no longer with us, it resonates.”

“I get up in the morning and I say we’re lucky, today’s a good day.

“That’s a driving force,” he concluded.

Another fundraiser going into its 21st year is The Gallant Challenge, which takes place annually in Cornafean.

The last 5/10km walk took place on October 28, 2023, and raised €35,000 through registrations, raffles, bucket collections and donations.

Since its inception over two decades ago, the challenge has raised over half a million for the hospice with the tally currently running at €505,000.

“It started off as something simple, just a walk and then it got legs and kept going through the years,” organiser Ciaran Weir beamed, praising the generosity of people who help to organise and participate in the challenge.

“It’s a phenomenal milestone,” he said.

“If someone belonging to you is sick, you have to go to Dublin; you have to go down the country.

“To have it [St Christopher’s Hospice] on our doorstep is huge news.”