WELL done to everyone who supported the Wicklow Foxhounds’ recent successful fundraiser which raised the whopping sum of €6,057 for St James’s Hospital Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust Fund. The cap and donations were collected at the opening meet at Tara Vale pub in Ballymoney, Co Wexford at the end of October and the cheque was officially presented to representatives from St James’s Hospital last week.

The hunt members and supporters all got behind the fundraiser after hunt stalwart Liam Mulligan, a farmer and businessman from Gorey, received the shock diagnosis of leukaemia while attending a wedding in America in April. An unstoppable nose bleed resulted in an unexpected trip to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York where the illness was first discovered by Dr Michael and Dr John in the leukaemia unit.

Six weeks later, back home under the expert care of Dr Catherine Glynn and Dr Kennelly, Liam underwent a successful bone marrow transplant in St James’s Hospital.

By way of appreciation, with strong support of the Wicklow Hunt, local farmers Michael Golden and Kevin Coade got busy fundraising. Leukaemia units like St James’s are very much in need of charitable donations like this and were delighted to receive the generous cheque. More donations are needed.

Heartfelt tribute was paid by the Mulligan family and the Wicklow Hunt members to the community in the North Wexford who generously supported the fundraiser and also to farmer and publican Jim French of the Tara Vale where great hospitality was laid on.