Tuesday, February 17, 2015

A GREAT night was enjoyed by almost 200 people from the Ballymore / Mayglass area as they celebrated the clearing of a €350,000 debt which saw them renovate their church interior and upgrade the roof of the building.

Every fundraiser and event conceivable was run by the small seven-person committee over the past seven years with an average of 24 events each year. These included: concerts, cake sales, gymkhanas, fashion shows, drama nights, bike races, table quizzes, car boot sales, marathons (run by people in aid of the restoration fund), Christmas cards, carol services, jersey raffles, hunts, open garden days, golf classics, tractor runs, ladies afternoons, dances, weekly bingo and hamper draws.

Committee member Mary Fenlon remarked that it was a huge undertaking but the committee was happy to take it on and see it through.

“We got fantastic support from the community including a €200,000 loan which was interest free and that helped us out an awful lot.”

The small committee, made up of: Marie Devereux, John Harpur, Mary Lyons, Eleanor Quilty, Fr. Martin Byrne, Mary Fenlon and Leo Browne, worked tirelessly to ensure that the loan was constantly chipped away at.

Nearly 180 people joined the committee for the recent celebration in the Danby Lodge when the last cheque, proceeds of a tractor raffle, for a vehicle which was donated by Larry Devereux, was handed over to the committee by the Bargy Bintage Club and this marked the end of the repayments.

Ms. Fenlon, who spoke on the night extended her thanks to all those who had assisted over the seven years, remarking that the parish’s debt was now fully cleared.

[Full story with photographs in this week’s Echo]