Glamorous grannies dazzle in Kilmore

The regional final of the Special Olympics Granny of the Year, taking in counties Ulster and Connaught, will be taking place in Cavan after the county put on one of the most successful Granny of the Year contests in the country. County Co-ordinator, John Clancy, revealed that in excess of €25,000 was raised for Special Olympics in the county through the contest, which saw Ballyconnell lady Eileen Reilly crowned Cavan"s Granny of the Year last Thursday night in the Hotel Kilmore. Speaking to the Anglo-Celt, Eileen said she was 'very surprised' but 'definitely delighted' with the title. Eileen, who cares for her mother-in-law Margaret O"Reilly who will be 97 this August, was nominated for Cavan"s Granny of the Year by Susan and Peter McVitty in Ballyconnell. But the publicity shy lady said she had to 'think twice' about accepting the nomination for the contest but it was the worthy cause of the Special Olympics that helped her to quickly make up her mind. Eileen has six children Nuala, Barry, Dallan, Joseph and twins Louise and Helen. Between them, she has seven grandchildren Megan Padden, twins Kate and Aoife Collins, James and David O"Reilly, Tom Murphy and baby Myles O"Reilly. Anxious not to take all the glory, Eileen praised all of the other contestants and her own mother-in-law, the great-granny of the O"Reilly clan. 'She has lived to see three generations of twin girls and I mentioned that on the night, it"s part of my story,' said Eileen. She said that she is acutely aware of how illnesses or accidents can leave individuals with an intellectual or physical disability and Eileen admires the work that Special Olympics Ireland does to improve the physical health of such young people, while also giving them a social outlet. 'My niece was a week on life support after car accident and my daughter-in-law and her little baby were both close to dying from a rare pregnancy syndrome,' she said but thankfully mum and baby pulled through and are now doing well. Eileen sang 'There is a Time' her own version of a hymn 'There is a Place' has her party piece on the night. She was decided as the winner by an independent adjudicator"s panel, which included Helen Dunne, Cavan Rose of Tralee; Francis Kavanagh, national director of sports with Special Olympics Ireland; and Amy O"Sullivan, an actress from Fair City who plays Beth. Competition from the 16 contestants was stiff and Ann Brodie from Virginia came second, while Kathleen Heaslip, Crosskeys came in third place. The escort on the night, as decided by the contestants, was Paddy Archibald, GAA referee. Meanwhile, Cavan"s very own music man Martin Donohoe performed the honours as MC on the night. Gene Bannon and "Almost Jazz" provided the musical entertainment for the night, while the hairy grannies (Patrick Farrelly and Joe Miney) from Ballyjamesduff Frolics got a good few laughs. Commenting on the night, John Clancy said it was 'brilliant', 'an unbelievable success'. Some €25,000 in sponsorship was raised by the competing grannies alone, without counting the takings on the door and from a raffle and auction on the night. Third place winner Kathleen Heaslip raised the most money (€4,600) and won a sponsored prize of a weekend break in the Tullamore Court Hotel for her efforts. But Mr. Clancy praised all the contestants for the significant amount of money raised. The organisers and Eileen are now looking forward to the regional final on Friday, May 8 in the Cavan Crystal Hotel. They are hoping Eileen will go on to represent Cavan in the all-Ireland final. A total of six grannies will be picked on the night to go forward with the overall national winner getting a world cruise sponsored by Abbey Travel. For Eileen, her biggest worry is cameras. 'If you only know how frightened I am by a camera!' As for what to wear, she laughs: 'With five weddings behind me, I"ll put something together again.' For further information and tickets for the regional final, contact John Clancy on 049-8543334 or 085-1611300.