Aglish: a small community with a very big heart

Aglish may be one of North Tipperary's smallest communities, but the people there have a very big heart.

When a local women's group rallied around one of its members who was diagnosed with cancer, it sparked a fundraising campaign that has resulted in one of the largest donations ever made by a community to North Tipperary Hospice and the Suaimhneas Cancer Support Centre based in Nenagh.
Last month, after a lot of toil, tears, laughter and heroic effort, the fundraising drive culminated with the Aglish Sociable Ladies Club handing over a cheque for €53,091 to representatives of the hospice and Suaimhneas.
"It really does enforce your faith in mankind," declares Marie Brennan, one of the key drivers behind the campaign, holding back tears at the thought of such goodness and kindness. 
"The generosity of people is untold."
The woman whose cancer plight sparked the drive is Deirdre Darcy, a mother of three adult children, and a member of An Garda Síochána stationed in Nenagh.
Deirdre is overwhelmed at the way her illness inspired an entire community to rally behind her and the two main organisations in North Tipperary that help people through their darkest hours on their cancer journey.
"It's just an exceptional amount of money for such a small little area," says Deirdre. "It shows you that anything is achieveable if you put your mind to it."
Every year the Aglish Sociable Ladies – whose 40 or so members are drawn from Aglish itself and surrounding villages – holds a fundraiser for various charities. But when one of their own contracted cancer it brought out the best, not alone in the group, but in the wider community of Borrisokane and Nenagh who just wanted to help.
Deirdre had recieved such magnificent support from Suaimhneas during her illness, and when she declared her intention to give something back, the people of her area and surrounding areas rowed wholeheartedly behind her.
A local printer produced raffle cards for free – first he printed 100, and then as the success of the raffle grew beyone the wildest dreams of the ladies group, he printed a further 400. Shopkeepers allowed promoters set up stalls in their shops to sell the raffle lines, and many people braved harsh winter weather to seek support door-to-door. 
Farmers donated bales of hay, turf and timber, and they in turn cajoled livestock food companies to donate stuff such as calf nuts and other feeds for prizes. Young and old were involved. The junior and senior students in Aglish National School held separate drama productions that generated substantially to the fund, and Galway hurler Joe Canning came up with a few signed hurleys.
There were so many donations coming the way of the sociable ladies that they ultimately decided to hold an auction as well as the raffle.
The also staged a family day and barbecue where Gurteen College offered their catering staff and food for free, and local musicians sang songs and played to the crowds, not asking for a penny in return.
"We ended up with 81 lots for the auction, which we held in Aglish Hall last June," recalls Marie Brennan. "We sold every item, and people bid rediculously high prices for them because they knew their money was going to very worthy causes."
After the auction Marie went to Deirdre's house to count up the money generated from the auction. "I totted everything up and the sum came to €40,000, but I thought I had made a mistake," recalls Marie. "So I totted it all up a second time, and then a third time – €40,000! – the two us just sat at the kitchen table and cried. It was all beyond our wildest dreams."
On top of all this, Deirdre and her farmer partner, Noel Hogan, had written to almost 80 companies all over Ireland urging support: cheques arrived by post in their droves, yet the bulk of the money was generated locally.
Everything culminated with a 'Celebration of Life' night on November 29th in Aglish Hall when the sociable ladies presented the final raised sum of €53,091 to representatives of the hospice and Suaimhneas.
As to why the campaign was such a phenomenal success, Deirdre says: "I think a lot of people in the community knew other people that had been on, or are on the same cancer journey, as I was on and they just wanted to help."
Deirdre and Marie name off a long list of people who contributed to the campaign to whom they say they will be forever grateful. "Everyone involved was just terrific," says Marie. "We had a great response from everyone in Borrisokane, Portumna and Nenagh areas and we want to thank every person from the bottom of our hearts."