Over €100K for cancer charities

FUNDRAISER Event in memory of popular Tierworker man

Two brothers from Tierworker are still on a high following the success of a fundraiser in memory of their late father, which raised a whopping €100,000 for cancer charities across Cavan. Matthew and Declan Cahill organised the event in memory of their father, Mattie Cahill, who lost his battle with cancer last year.

A presentation night was hosted in The Royal Breffni in Tierworker last Saturday when three cheques worth €30,000 each were awarded to Bailieborough Cancer Care, Kingscourt Cancer Care and Cavan Monaghan Palliative Care. The final recipient of €10,000 has yet to be decided.

Speaking to The Anglo-Celt following the event, a delighted Matthew said: “It was a great night. The hard work was done at that stage. There was a nice crowd.”

Matthew explained that, after his father passed, many of his friends and family contacted him and his brother looking to organise an event in their father’s memory.

A meeting was held where ideas of a walk, tractor run, auction, and raffle were all suggested.

“After a few more meetings, we got brave and decided to do everything all on the one day,” laughed Matthew.

“We picked the 30th of July, which was a gamble. We were competing against the football final and then the poor weather on the day, both of which in the end didn’t put the crowd off from turning up in great numbers.”

The day began with a walk around an area locally known as the mountain, followed by a tractor run, which boasted over 170 tractors before the craic moved to the Royal Breffni for an auction, a raffle, and great music.

“There was great attendance and support on the day,” says Matthew.

“The day was a great success and in the days after the fundraiser we got the money counted, we had raised €100k - a lot more than our original €20k target,” he says, excited about the money generated.

Mattie Cahill passed away on July 27, 2022, aged 67 years having been diagnosed with cancer only eight weeks previous.

“When he received the bad news, his reaction was a pure example of bravery, he just looked at the positive side of things saying - ‘sure it would be worse if I was a lot younger and didn’t see my family grow up and sure what can you do?. I have enjoyed everything up until now and you just have to make the best of it’,” Matthew recalled.

“He stayed positive and courageous about everything right until the very end,” he added.

Mattie had lived a very active life up until that point. He was known by many as a hard worker and “wasn’t one for hanging around or watching telly”.

Mattie worked as a maintenance fitter in a local factory until his retirement. “When he wasn’t at work, he was at home farming until all hours at night,” Matthew laughed.

“He loved farming and the way farming always threw up a variety of challenges that had to be done on a farm across all the seasons, from calving cows to making silage.

“He enjoyed going for a few pints in his local pub, The Royal Breffni Tierworker, where he would catch up with his friends and neighbours, talking about cattle prices, land prices, day to day topics and then off course the usual winding up and slagging a few lads that goes on as part of the craic!”

Matthew concluded by thanking everyone who helped make the fundraiser a tremendous success.

“Declan and I would like to thank everyone who supported the fundraiser - the Committee members who worked tirelessly and gave 110 percent from our first meeting to the finishing up of the fundraiser.”

He also thanked those who helped with refreshments, directing traffic, and everyone who donated.

“There are just too many to thank individually, but we really appreciate everyone who made this a success.”

Anyone interested in donating to the worthy cause, can still do so through GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/matties-cancer-charity-fundraiser