New Year appeal family hand over excess funds
The Cavan family, who lost €2,000 in the run up to last New Year's, only for the local community to rally to their aid in a remarkable act of generosity, have donated the excess funds raised to St Felim's National School in Ballinagh.
The gesture was described as 'magnanimous' by chair of the Board of Management Owen Keogh, who joined school principal, Orla Finnegan, in receiving the cheque for €2,465 from Laura Scully, who was left distraught when the family savings went missing on December 30.
Having withdrawn the money directly from the bank in a lump sum to cover his family’s bills and costs, her husband Liam only realised the money was missing after he had returned home.
Despite retracing their steps, the wallet remained lost and all hope was given up until Laura posted about their plight on social media.
The result was a flood of support, and donations, the majority of which came after local businesswoman Lorraine O'Neill raffled a set of coveted GHD hair straighteners.
Since then, the Scully family have been in several national newspapers and radio stations to tell their unbelievable story, including an appearance on Ray D'Arcy's weekend chat show.
In total, €4,465 was raised by locals in reaction to the Scully family predicament.
'Life's coming back to normal - slowly but surely. I'm just glad from our misfortune we can help someone else out. What happened to us was absolutely awful, but I say to whoever took the money, good luck to them. It's long gone now.
'What we've gained over the past month or so is worth so much more. The generosity, the human kindness we've experienced is something that'll stay with us for a very long time. It's amazing to see what people will do for others in a crisis situation,' said Laura.
It's a sentiment shared by Lorraine who views this week as a poignant one for her own efforts in seeking to raise funds for various charities, in particular for Cystic Fibrosis Cavan in aid of the provision of better services locally at Cavan General Hospital.
February 7, 2009, marked the day that Lorraine's daughter Mia was diagnosed with CF, and it was not long after that the Redhills woman launched her fundraising campaign.
'That's when I started going around, starting to fundraise and, from that, I found there is so much generosity out there among people, it's unreal.
'When I saw Laura's message and went to raffle the GHDs, I didn't think we'd make the €100 but 190 people came in that Saturday alone. And the money just kept coming after that.'
For principal, Ms Finnegan, it's a welcome boost for the school, which added the 'Rainbow' and the 'Butterfly' special needs resource rooms in recent years.
'We'll use the money for the school, so it'll be for the main stream and the special classes. There is the 'Rainbow' and the 'Butterfly' room, both of which we would have spent considerable amounts of money on in the past, getting resources for them. It will go towards buying equipment, as well as towards funding equipment already purchased, which we're still paying back.'
Mr Keogh adds that the funds 'couldn't come at a better time' as the school continues to gear up to launch a fundraising effort of its own.
'It's very heartening to get this donation. It is going to a very good cause. It is also great to see how people respond to troubles others may have. It couldn't have come at a better time as we're currently working on fundraising efforts in the school as well. The magnanimous gesture of the Scully family and everyone who supported it is something to behold.'