Over €80,000 raised for Operation Paddy

A breath-taking €80,000-plus has now been raised for ‘Operation Paddy’ in Shercock.
Paddy Archbold, who will attend a specialist in London for penile reconstruction surgery, was attending a fundraiser in the Widows Bar in Belturbet on last Wednesday night told The Anglo-Celt: “We are overwhelmed by this support and generosity”.
This staggering amount of money has been raised in just 14 weeks by a dynamic ‘Operation Paddy Committee’ in Shercock, spearheaded by Sean Clarke and Peadar Mohan.
Paddy should be on his way to London by the end of this month. Money has rolled in from as far-flung places as America and Australia.
Paddy who is preparing for his procedures, has shed three stone in weight since Christmas and he has another few pounds to lose. Paddy was nearly 23 stone at one stage, but is now much more trim weighing in at 17 stone 9lbs. His first operation in London will last for a duration of ten hours, and Paddy points out the lighter he is, the less anaesthetic he will require.
Paddy will be under Dr David Raph, who is a specialist from Harley Street in London for penile reconstruction procedures. He had an operation to remove the cancer in Beaumont and has had seven or eight operations since then.
He is three years down the road after those operations now, and Paddy hopes the surgery in London will, “give me my quality of life back”.
Paddy, comes from Dublin and also lived in New York. He is married to Attracta and the couple have two sons, Brian and Glen. He says loves Shercock and the community spirit is brilliant and people are encouraging him right along the way. “My father Paddy Senior lives in Corlough and they had a coffee morning there to raise funds for Operation Paddy”. He wishes to thank the great committee in Shercock for all their amazing fundraising efforts.

SOSAD’s urgent funding need
The other beneficiary of the Widow’s Bar fundraising was SOSAD in Cavan, and Christine Wynne from that organisation was also present to accept the donation of €540.
“This money will be going directly into the Cavan SOSAD account – it is all badly needed as we are struggling at present to keep the doors open. We are under severe financial pressure. Brendan Fay is a tremendous supporters and has been involved with SOSAD since nearly day one,” said Christine.
“I have never seen the figures as high as they are at present in relation to people looking for help. The suicide figures themselves are coming down, but that is as a result of the existence of organisations like ourselves being there to help people.”
“We have seen a big increase since Christmas and particularly in the 15 to 20 age bracket”, added Christine.
Christine urged anyone fundraising at present, to please keep SOSAD in mind. The telephone number which is in operation 24 hours a day is 049 4326 339.
One of those fund raising efforts was at the Widows Bar in Belturbet where the Proprietor Brendan Fay collected coins over the past two years and put them in a box behind the counter with a glass front on it, so that the coins were visible as it filled up to the brim. A total of €1,080 was counted last Wednesday night in the bar and equally divided between SOSAD in Cavan and Operation Paddy in Shercock. Each fund received €540, and this is the third time that the Widows Bar has collected money in this manner. Brendan said these are two very deserving causes.