Last Friday (13th August 2010) night at Farrells Summerfield Bar a cheque in the sum of  € 12,650.00 was presented to Amanda Stavrou,Norma Kenneally,& Mary O’Dowd,staff members of Marymount Hospice,in front of a large crowd.
Photo : Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

Martin Drake, whose wife Caroline sadly passed away on 29th July  2009 in Marymount Hospice, together with his family decided to hold a road race/walk on 18th July in memory of Caroline and to raise much needed funds for Marymount Hospice.

A small organising committee was formed  consisting of  Martin Drake, Tim Twomey,Ger Flanagan,& Willie Dalton and all worked very hard up to race day to ensure the road race/walk was a huge success.Ger Flanagan of Flanagan Print was very helpful in promoting the race/walk as he very generously printed over a thousand race leaflets which Martin and Tim brought to all the road races leading up to our race .He also printed several large posters and over 200 sponsorship cards.

At the presentation last Friday night Twomey welcomed the Mayor Youghal, Mary Lenihan Foley and the large crowd in attendance and thanked them all for coming. He thanked the main sponsors for their very generous support, in particular Mike Farrell (Summerfield Bar) for the use of his premises on race day  and various other meetings, Jack O’Patsy Pottery, Flanagan Print, Kelkab Ltd.,The Quays Bar,Lidl, & Supermacs. He also thanked all the local shopkeepers and offices who were very generous in giving out spot prizes.

He went on to thank all the people who came out to help on the day in particular Sergeant Mark Ward and all his colleagues at the Garda Station for giving us a traffic free route,Pat McCarthy and his paramedic team, Willie O’ Mahony for his PA system, Tommy Roche, The Coast Guard Crew, the Wild Geese Motor Cycle Club for their help at stewarding the race, and The Ballycotton Running Promotions team for their help on the day.

Although it rained most of the day the Race /Walk was a huge success with 245 runners/walkers taking part. We raised € 2,500.00 approx from this event  with the balance € 10,150.00 coming from Sponsorship Cards.Twomey went on to thank all the people from East Cork, West Waterford that contributed so generously to this great cause.

He then called on Amanda Stavrou (Marymount Hospice)to say a few words.Amanda said she was delighted to accept such a large cheque on behalf of  Marymount Hospice and that the money would be well spent as they were hoping to move into their new Hospital/Hospice at Curraheen next year. The cost of the new facility is € 60M.She thanked everyone that contributed and particularly Martin and his hard working team. Twomey thanked Amanda and called on the Lord Mayor to say a few words.

The Mayor of Youghal, Mary Lenihan Foley said she was delighted to have been invited to say a few words. She said she was amazed to have seen such a great turnout on  race/walk day. The rain did not deter 245 competitors on July 18th,and she complimented the race organisers for doing such a great job and hoped it would be an annual event.

She then said the staff at Marymount Hospice had a very special vocation and said not everyone could do their work.  She said she was delighted that the race organisors had raised such a huge sum for Marymount Hospice and complimented everyone in Youghal and the surrounding areas for their very generous contributions in these recessionary times.She wished the three Staff members and all at Marymount the best of look when they move into their new Hospital/Hospice next year.

Twomey thanked the Mayor for her kind words and hoped everyone would enjoy the rest of the night.