Cavan and Monaghan raise over €163,000 on Daffodil Day

This Daffodil Day, counties Cavan and Monaghan raised more than €163,000 for the Irish Cancer Society to bring hope, provide support, drive progress and stand together against cancer.

Some €82,543.91 was raised in Cavan and €80,788 was generated in Monaghan, bringing the total raised in both counties to €163,331.91.

The money will fund expert cancer nurses, providing end-of-life care for patients in their own homes, allowing them to remain at home for the last days of their lives.

Organised by the Irish Cancer Society almost 40 years ago, Daffodil Day is an annual fundraising and awareness campaign to support cancer patients, fund research, and provide vital services across Ireland. On this day, communities, schools, workplaces, and individuals show their support by selling daffodil pins, hosting coffee mornings, donating, and decorating in yellow to symbolise hope and solidarity.

Monica McElhinney, community fundraiser for Connaught/Ulster says she is “forever grateful” to all of the community organisers and the extended team of volunteers who give their time each year to organise Daffodil Day in the region and is “blown over” by the generosity of those who donate.

“Together, we won’t stop pushing for a better, more hopeful future,” she said.

“On Daffodil Day, by turning Ireland yellow we are showing our support of everyone affected by cancer.”

For the past 10 years, Martina Lee Boyle has organised Daffodil Day in Cavan Town and the surrounding areas. Her predecessor, Teresa Downey, had organised the event in the region since it first began and took Martina under her wing for a number of years before handing over the reins, leaving Martina with “very big shoes to fill”.

This year, the area Martina covers raised €33,711.

Martina typically begins preparations for Daffodil Day after Christmas to make sure that everything runs smoothly on the day.

To ensure that no volunteer is left with a shift of more than two hours, Martina needs around 100 volunteers to cover her area.

As they have an “aging” population of volunteers, Martina is advocating for more young people to get involved.

To give back for the support she received, Martina first got involved with the Irish Cancer Society around 15 years ago after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

It was a “tough time” for her family as her four children were only young but thankfully she “came through it”.

Martina received “invaluable” support from the Irish Cancer Society, including books on chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and learning how to explain things to her children.

If there was anything “annoying” her, she would phone their helpline to speak to someone.

“You always had a nurse at the end of the phone to talk through anything that you didn’t understand, disappointments or things that you were frightened of at the time and you didn’t want to bother your family with because they were worried enough without you worrying them even more,” she explained.

“No questions I asked were ever treated as trivial.”

Martina also used the drop-in Daffodil Centres while she was receiving treatment. The centres are based in several hospitals across the country.

During this time, Martina got involved with local cancer support service CUAN, which was based in Cootehill at the time, and was a “great lifeline” to her.

She is still involved with CUAN, having trained as a volunteer and subsequently been involved in the establishment of CUAN in Cavan Town.

CUAN provide a variety of services for cancer patients and their families, including a weekly drop-in service, counselling services, complimentary therapies, children’s activities, financial advice and informative courses.

Martina is also a member of the ‘Cuan Crooners’ community choir that was formed in 2024. The choir performs at various fundraisers, often with other choirs, and has around 30 members, made up of cancer survivors, people living with a cancer diagnosis and family and friends.

“I’m very proud of all their achievements,” says Martina of the choir, which she directs.

“What they’ve achieved in a short space of time is nothing short of miraculous. They're absolutely brilliant.”

Centres like Cuan receive funding through the Irish Cancer Society to help provide services.

“Every county in Ireland benefits from whatever is raised on Daffodil Day,” Martina says.