Templederry - a small parish with a big heart

In March 2020, while most of us were worrying about Covid-19 and what it was going to mean for us, Alannah Sheehan and her family were struggling with the news that she had been diagnosed with a Grade 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme brain tumour.

For the then 32-year-old mother of three, this was a reality that she had never envisaged facing. Alannah was given a 50% chance of living past two years.

Jump forward to October and this beautiful, warm-hearted, incredibly good-humoured and funny girl has gained over 22,000 followers on Instagram as she documents and shares her story. Having won over the hearts of so many, it was no surprise that a Go Fund Me page set up by her friend Jennifer O’Connor had surpassed the €80,000 mark and was still climbing.

At the end of October, to coincide with Halloween, a series of events were run by a group of people from Templederry, where Alannah and her family now live. These events have raised the staggering amount of just over €49,000.

Surpassing all hopes and expectations, a scrap metal collection raised nearly €30,000. It was an event that gained a huge response from people, being doubly beneficial as people got rid of the unwanted scrap from their yards and homes while at the same time supported this amazing cause.

The response from the local people was phenomenal. Trailer loads of scrap arrived in a disused creamery just outside the village over the October Bank Holiday weekend. Huge time, research and experience went in to maximising what could be gotten from the scrap. In the worst of weather, a hard-working team, with lots of willing and eager volunteers, sorted and organised what came in to make sure the maximum financial gain was gotten from what was collected.

ALANNAH GIVES THANKS

This amount alone was overwhelming for Alannah, who said that not being from the parish herself originally has left her blown away by how generous the people of Templederry are, not only with their money, but with their time: “That people you’ve never met would do so much for you in your time of need is just incredible,” she said.

A new concern for her now is how will she ever express her gratitude to her new neighbours and her adopted parish?

Other events that raised money included a virtual 5k fun run that was widely supported, with over 350 people getting involved, including some of the Templederry diaspora in Australia, not to mention the many schools in the local and surrounding parishes who got their students involved and made donations to the cause.

The Come Dine with Me Event was supported by mothers on the maternity ward, families having a regular dinner together, others dressing up for Halloween and couples who used it as an excuse for a date night with a difference! Chocolate bars containing ‘golden prize tickets’ were sold throughout the parish and these were a big hit, proving quite difficult to get your hands on in light of their popularity. Collectively, these events brought in over €9,000.

Templederry native Mike Browne got in touch with the committee to say he was going to organise a sponsored cycle, covering 100k around the county. Not to be deterred by Level 5 restrictions and Covid-19, Browne and his troupe carried out a 100k cycle on stationary bikes in their homes, communicating virtually to motivate each other, and raising just under €6,000! No mean feat! The remainder of the money collected came from generous cash donations made by people throughout the parish.

‘ROOM TO BREATHE’

So, what does this collection mean for Alannah and her young family? Alannah’s prognosis means that she needs full-time care, with her husband Martin leaving his job to look after her. “This money first and foremost gives us financial security and gives us room to breathe,” said Alannah. “I have to try and look after myself and keep stress to a minimum and this is a huge stress gone from our lives.”

It is more than that for the Sheehan family though; the reach of social media and online forums has brought a number of treatment centres to Alannah’s attention. These look at living with this kind of a tumour and what you can do to increase your life expectancy. There are centres in Europe and America, and Alannah is now looking at visiting some of these. This is something that simply would not be an option for her if she did not have the finances to support such a visit.

“The money that has come from the people of Templederry gives me the opportunity to visit these centres, learn more about my condition and what I can do to keep myself healthy and stop my tumour from growing. I’ve been in touch people who have had real success following these programmes. One man is living six years with my tumour. I find it so hard to put into words just how grateful I am to the people of Templederry and it is so important to me that they know how much this all means to me.

“Templederry are keeping me fighting. They are motivating me to overcome this and to push on every day. I just don’t know how I am ever going to thank them. It’s really important that they hear it from me directly and hear me say it in person, so I look forward to a chance to do that.”

SUPPORTING LOCAL

A huge thank you is owed to the many local businesses who supported the campaign. The spot prizes that were donated were incredibly generous and really helped to encourage people to get involved. Local businesses are great to support local causes and it is important that we support them now after such a difficult year, and we ask everyone to shop local this Christmas.

The total collected through Alannah’s Go Fund Me Page and the Templederry Fighting 4 Alannah campaign now stands at over €170,000. To one and all who supported this cause, Alannah and her family don’t know what the right words are. For them, no words are enough with Alannah believing that ‘Thank you’ is too small an expression for what her local parish has done for her and Martin and their three young children. She promises that she will be there for the next Templederry person who is in need, already showing her kindness and gratitude by making and delivering delicious soup and bread to neighbours who are in need of some TLC themselves.

She has vowed to lead the next charge and, really, isn’t that what community is all about? Happy Christmas to the Sheehan family; happy Christmas to one and all!