Longford Variety Group present charity cheques

After the dust settled on Longford Variety Group's last outing 'Divas and Dudes' the organisers totted up the takings and made their presentations to local charities. The last show marked the group's 25 years of fundraising for the local community.

Having hosted two shows in one year, 'Are Ya Wide Sham' and 'Divas and Dudes', the Variety Group made a donation totaling €25,000 to local charities. The beneficiaries were Longford Hospice Homecare. Voices for Autism Longford St Christopher's, Bethany House, Ms Longford, St Teresa’s National School Killoe, and Rehab care day care centre. In the last decade and a half the group has raised a whopping €250,000 for local charities.

Chairperson of the group, Charlie Murry, spoke of the importance of community supporting each other: “We live by our motto of 'by the community for the community'. The cast put so much effort and hard work into every show, but nothing beats the feeling of pride and satisfaction when presenting a cheque to a local charity.”

The Variety Group Chairperson says the group were overwhelmed by the support they received: “As a group we know how difficult it is asking the people of Longford for donations, especially in the current circumstances.

Every year they keep supporting our show and our fundraising events. A big thank you to our sponsors and the people of Longford who support our show every year. We look forward to your continued support in 2023.”

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Charlie said many people contributed to making the shows a success: “We are blessed, we have a great committee, with Maggie Walsh, Kevin Hussey, and Christine O'Brien all making tremendous contributions.

Our director Brian Murray and choreographer, Penny Barry, have put in a lot of work. Through the years we have been so lucky to have so many people willing to give the time and effort to the Variety Group.”