Causes and consequences are usually first on the scene of great happenings and in that order too.
A massive charity event in Scartaglen on the beautiful Sunday morning of August 20th was a consequence caused by the death of Donal Kerin at just 49 years of age.
The significance of the August 20th date is that he would have been 50 on that day.
The popularity of the Scartaglen farmer and that of his family ensured that the coffee morning organised by his wife Annette and their children, Jack, Paul and Grace, with huge community support, would be a contender for event of the year in the village.
Offers of Support
From the moment she announced her intentions of marking her beloved Donal’s birthday, there were messages and offers of support from the locality and further afield as the news spread.
On the occasion, which was due to run from 10:30am to 12:30pm at the Sliabh Luachra Heritage Centre in the village, beautiful, autumnal weather prevailed and facilitated as much activity outside and around the centre as it did indoors.
Those outdoors on that memorable morning sat on the village walls and chatted and mixed.
Indoors, the pace was far more hectic and water was in demand and constantly on the boil as waves of locals and visitors descended on the centre.
A Big Hit Event
By that evening an exhausted Annette and her organising committee knew they had a big hit event on their hands.
There was no point in providing a figure for publication then as money was still coming in – and it kept on doing so for a week or more after.
On Friday evening last, back in the same centre in Scart, Annette Kerin along with Jack, Paul and Grace presented representatives of the Kerry Hospice Foundation with a cheque for €17,200
Annette didn’t rule out running with suggestions that her creation should be an annual event for the palliative care unit – nor did she rule it in – but she’s thinking about it.
Cheque Acceptance Team
There, on the evening, as part of the cheque acceptance hospice team was Liz Reidy-McCarthy on whom Annette conferred angel status for the manner in which she stood with them and eased Donal’s final hours and the family’s trauma on Christmas Eve 2022.
It’s little wonder then that we also learned on Friday evening that people from neighbouring counties request that their final days be spent in the care of the team at University Hospital Kerry.
Kerry Hospice Chairman, Jack Shanahan thanked Annette, her family, friends and the wider community for their outpouring of generosity.
He cited the requests from outside the county for the services of the care team as an addition to the reasons for their plans to add extra space and five more beds to the cherished, Tralee based service.
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.
