Successful charity event raises
fantastic amount for Marie Curie
By Ronan Scott
THE children of Seamus O’Higgins have said their father would have been pleased by the success of the fundraising event held at the Donard Bar in aid of Marie Curie.
The night at the races event was organised by the Newcastle man’s friends and children, Sean, Niall and Aimee, and held in the Donard Bar. It raised over £10,600 for Marie Curie.
The family said they did not expect to get as much money as they did.
“We were delighted with it. It was not what we were expecting.
“We were focused on the occasion and not on how much was going to be raised.
“We were hoping to just run a good night.”
Seamus died in December 2019 from Pancreatic Cancer.
His children explained that the idea for the event was brought to them by Seamus’s friends.
“Dad’s friends approached us after a night was held for Raymond Harbinson. They thought that they would do something similar.
“We were a bit reluctant at the start. Dad was away four and half years ago. We thought that it was done and passed.
“It has been a long time since he was here. We thought that the opportunity had gone.”
The family said that Seamus’s friends did a lot of the work to make the night such a success.
“There was a team of us who worked on different elements, sponsorship, admin.
“There was an awful lot of organising.
“There was about ten of us.
“Everyone really did a lot of work to get it going.”
The event was a huge success because of the money that it raised, but there was a big attendance at the night as well. His children said that was no surprise.
“The turnout was what we would have expected.
“Dad would have been well enough known in the bar.
“I don’t think that we could have got many more in the bar.”
Much of the money was raised before the night, with raffle tickets and money raised in the lead up to the event.
The family also pointed out that it was important to acknowledge the Donard Bar’s part in the fundraiser.
“The main way we were going to honour dad was watching horses in the Donard with his friends and family.
“The venue was a big thing for us. The Donard Bar and the family behind it are important.
“They did mean a lot to dad. That night was never going to be anywhere else.
“Anything we asked for was never a problem.”
When asked what Seamus would have thought about the event, the family said: “He would not have liked the attention but he would have liked that the event supported the Marie Curie charity.
“They helped him a lot when Mum died. So, he would be glad that they were helped.”
They went on to say that the charity was very glad to receive such a large donation.
“Marie Curie were delighted with any donation that they received. They were appreciative.
“It is good because the money we raise for them goes back at a local level.
“It is put back into the local community.
“The help that Marie Curie get, they will appreciate it.”
From such a sad event, something positive has emerged.
“You have to try to find the positives from it,” the family said.