Ag Éirí Thar Barr … A Stunning Success

The long-awaited Club Kildress Draw took place last night, 6 July, and as at 10.00pm last night, had brought in £474,151. There’s some more to come as bits-and-pieces are tidied up. We believe that sets, by a bit of a distance, a record for a local GAA Club-related Draw anywhere.

As a community we are (a) very, very proud of that and (b) humbled by the total generosity of such huge numbers of people, many, many of whom don’t know Kildress, were never in Kildress and will never be in Kildress. Yet when we asked, they helped us.

‘Ar scath a cheile a mhaireann na daoine/people live in one another’s shelter’ never rang truer.

A few things to share:

• Many people and GAA Clubs gave us precious and detailed advice before we set out but we’re particularly grateful to Beragh Red Knights and Moneyglass St Ergnats for the time they gave us and the learning and knowledge they shared with us. Later on so many GAA Clubs and people gave us great help on-the-ground in their areas/communities.

• We had a team of over 100 sellers, and a core group of managers/coordinators/administrators, all total and absolute ‘zero expenses’ volunteers, many of whom have never slacked at this since 15 September last year: this really was/is ‘Meitheal Chill Dreasa’

• Our team included men and women (it was a very strongly gender-balanced effort), from teenagers to people in their eighties

• People bought Club Kildress Draw tickets in very County in Ireland and in Australia, Britain, Canada, England, Europe, Middle East and the USA

• Ulster was stunningly supportive: we got huge backing from every GAA Club area in Tyrone, Derry and Fermanagh and from every Club area we visited (and that was a lot!) in Antrim, Armagh, Donegal, Down and Monaghan (we didn’t travel as far as Cavan for our structured selling). That can’t and won’t be forgotten. Ulster is a special Province. Let’s keep it that way.

• Included among our buyers were (at least) 23 All-Ireland Senior medal winners and 26 All-Stars: in our GAA there are no tiers!

• Ticket No 100 was sold to Maggie Loughran, Kildress … who was 100 on 5 August last year (she was born the day after ‘Gaelic Sunday’ in 1918!). No matter what we do in the GAA, legacy, respect, honour, heritage and a contentment about Who we are and Where we’re from lie at the heart of it all. That ultimately is why we do all this in the first place.

Finally, in that most important bit of feedback, the Club Kildress Draw winners were:

• £10,000: Tiernan McGrath, Gortnagarn, Omagh

• £3,000: Michael Corey, Kildress

• £500 (x 6): Brian McKenna, Omagh | Fiona Kennedy-Burns, Magherafelt | Richard Carey, Portstewart | Gabriel McCaffrey, Derrylin | Mary Cannon, New York | Malachy McElholm, Trillick

• £250 (x 8): Tony Scullion, Bellaghy | Sean Corchann, Dunloy | Paul Maguire, Omagh | Cillian Donnelly, Fintona | Martin Boyle, Donegal | PJ Lavery, Coalisland | Pat Cunning, Greysteel | Mickey Gillespie, Galbally

• £1,000 (Draw for GAA Clubs which helped us on-the-ground in their areas): St Mary’s, Burren

The Draw leaves our community with the financial package effectively in place to start our £1.2m Hub building on site next month.

Over 80% of that price tag has been raised by Kildress, a rural, marginal place of under 2,500 people, with the unrelenting support of the wider GAA community.

What we all share, especially in rural GAA Ireland, is very precious. Let’s cherish it. And we thank those literally thousands of people who are helping us do that cherishing.

‘Go gcuire Dia ráth agus blath oraibh uilig/May God grant that you all flourish and prosper.’