Granard fundraisers raise €4,290 for ARC Cancer Support

Family and friends in Granard rallied over the recent festive season to remember the popular local businessman, John O’Donoghue, who battled bravely with cancer.

John and his dad, ran the successful O'Donoghue's Hardware in town for many years and the O'Donoghue family were honoured when the local St Mary's GAA club announced that the annual St Stephen's Day walk would be in memory of John and two other locals who passed away last year, Bridie Cunningham and Marie Connolly.

The walk raised €1,550 and was donated to ARC Cancer Support  in memory of John and these two popular local ladies. For many years John had been an enthusiastic member of the Granard Dernaferst Ski Club and annually they arranged a Ski or Dip at Dernaferst on the Loch Gowna shore over the festive period. Over the years the proceeds were given over to St Christopher's.

This year the participants wanted to acknowledge the memory of the late John O'Donoghue and so agreed that the proceeds would be handed over to the ARC Cancer Support group. The monies raised on the lake shore were further boosted by a draw organised by Sinead Fay in the family Bar and so the final sum was €2,740.

The two events combined meant that the sum of €4,290 was handed over to the Arc Cancer Support group and in doing so the close knit Granard community rallied together and remembered the late John O'Donoghue, Bridie Cunningham and Marie Connolly.