Ballymac Luckily Lands €10,000 Winnings Windfall For Castleisland Day Care Centre

Fr. Mossie Brick, PP Castleisland handing over a cheque for €10,000 to Castleisland Day Care Centre Nurse Manager, Marcella Finn with Nora Fealey, Castleisland Parish Office; Liam and Jacqui Dowling, trainers holding Fr. Brick’s heroic, Ballymac Luckily and Kathleen Griffin, Castleisland Day Care Centre Bord of Management at the presentation on Thursday afternoon. ©Photograph: John Reidy

Last July at the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium in Tralee the final of the Pestana@stud and Droopy’s Kennels Hospital stake was run off.

The result of that race triggered a series of positive reverberations for Castleisland Day Care Centre and just this week saw the presentation of a donation of €10,000 to the centre by Fr. Mossie Brick, PP Castleisland

In attempting to gather the strands of explanation for this amazing gesture and welcome windfall we find that Fr. Brick owned the race winner, Ballymac Luckily.

Not Without Drama

The final wasn’t without its drama for the ‘Ballymac’ camp as he dallied in second place for the majority of the race and only forged ahead within sight of the line.

“It was always in my head that if he could run at all and was capable of winning a race that the money would go to charity,” said Fr. Brick.

“I had been involved before in fundraising for Lixnaw church and the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium raised €125,000 back in 2007 to start the renovations there – so I knew the potential of this means of raising funds.

Shelbourne Park Winner

“It happened that on his first outing he won a stake as a pup and that realised about €2,800. Then he ran in Shelbourne Park and won two races there and he has won €4,000.

“When you win a stake in Tralee track they do a little interview with you and that went out on social media and the reaction to it was very positive.

“I mentioned that the pseudonym for the dog was Charity Paws and that every paw he took on the track would be for charity.

People Bought Into It

“So then people bought into it when they heard the interview and they wanted to be associated with it and €6,000 came in without any deliberate effort at marketing or anything like that.

It was just the reaction to a few comments passed during the interview that night at the track.

“Adding up the winnings and the support we got from people we realised a total of €10,000.

€10,000 Handed Over

“Today then we handed over that sum to the day care centre here as I have seen at first hand the great work they do for the people of the area.

“And it’s just not only from the Castleisland area alone but they bus people in from the surrounding areas as well.

“They are angels here. People come in here in the mornings and they mightn’t be in the best of form and they are fed and watered and any little bits that need doing are sorted and their concerns seen to.

“They’re looked after like that and they’re taken home that evening and are different people for their encounters with the care and attention they get here.

About Being Accepted

“The medicine here is all about being accepted and not feeling abandoned or thrown on the scrap-heap of life.

“To know that you’re loved and wanted and feel a sense of belonging and to have those feelings restored to elderly people is very important in any community.

“And it’s especially so for elderly people who live on their own in isolated areas,”

Night at the Dogs

“When you come in here, no matter how busy they are you get the sense that they make time for you and that’s a form of life giving for a lot of people.

“A night at the dogs at the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium is an amazing experience and, as a means of fundraising, there’s nothing to match it.

A Real Community Occasion

“If you take on a fundraiser with them they guide and direct you and it’s up to yourself and your group to work at it to make a success of it.

A night at the dogs is a real community occasion and there are so many things going on and it presents so many opportunities to raise funds for the benefit of your community – it’s an amazing night out with such a positive outcome.

The Ballymac Luckily Venture

The success of the Ballymac Luckily (Ballymac Best / Ballymac Sarahjo) venture is solidly based on the care and attention and training provided, free of charge, by Liam Dowling and the lads at their thriving and highly efficient kennels in Ballymacelligott.

“We’re very thankful to them on our own behalf and that of the many people who benefit from the services provided here at Castleisland Day Care Centre,” said Fr. Brick.

See the interview with Fr. Mossie Brick after his Ballymac Luckily landed his first big race at the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium in July of this year. Just Click on the link here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=534462971197170

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