AGHAMORE Community Development Company, with charity partner the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation, have launched a draw where you could win a cottage worth €100,000.

The prize - a two-bed traditional style cottage - can be erected anywhere in Ireland, designed and built in the Big Red Barn factory in Swinford.

Aghamore CDC hosted a launch event of their fundraising initiative (https://housedraw.ie/) in Eileen’s Bar in Aghamore where Malachy Mooney, chairman, outlined the impressive work the organisation has carried out over the last 15 years in creating the first purpose built community campus anywhere in the country consisting of a new national school, a purpose built childcare facility, all weather pitch and athletic track and community amenities centre housing a sports hall, theatre and conference room space, training room, enterprise suite, meeting room/boardroom and kitchen and bar/shop, alongside toilet and shower facilities to serve both the building and the pitch and track.

The value of the investment amounts to €2.3 million, of which the community raised a staggering €550,000 through a range of fundraising ventures.

The organisation has significant debt following the completion of construction of their community amenities building in June 2019 and due to the subsequent Covid restrictions have been unable to carry on with many of their traditional fundraising events over the past 18 months.

Housedraw.ie will address the urgent need for funding for both the development company and their charity partners, the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation.

Tickets for the two-bedroom modular cottage can be purchased online at www.housedraw.ie with an early bird special price of just €65 for the first 2,500 tickets or until midnight on July 31, whichever comes first. This represents great value for money given the amazing prize on offer. The ticket price will be €75 subsequently. Ticket numbers are limited to just 7,995.

Erin Watt Shepherd, a specialist children’s liaison nurse, representing Jack and Jill, explained how reliant their organisation are on charitable donations, requiring them to raise 82% of their annual expenditure themselves.

Their work includes the provision of specialist nursing care and palliative care to children under the age of six years in their own homes and providing a support and advocacy service to their families.

Like all organisations, their fundraising activities have also been severely curtailed by the restrictions in place due to the pandemic. They are delighted to be associated with the Aghamore Development Company in this venture who aim to donate funding for almost 3,000 hours of home nursing care to Jack and Jill clients in the coming year from this draw.

Donal Byrne, CEO of Big Red Barn, gave details of the cottage on offer, which can be viewed on the housedraw.ie website, and wished both groups the best of luck with the venture.

Margaret Fannon, MC, thanked all associated with the organisation of the event and who helped out with the launch, including Lisa Byrne of Broinn Design for their marketing expertise, Danielle Byrne for assistance with graphic design and web design, the management of Eileen’s for the use of their premises, Shane and Hazel Lloyd of the Dalgan in Ballyhaunis for providing food for the event, the management and staff of Big Red Barn for their help and cooperation and the members of the community development company for their incredible support.

She also praised the local community and Aghamore community worldwide who had given enormous physical, professional and financial support to the development company through the years and urged everybody to get behind the campaign and support the two very worthy causes.

* Pictured are members of Aghamore Community Development Co. At back, from left: Malachy Mooney, Tara Cox, Mary Niland, Michael Kilkenny, Cormac Lyons, Derry Cox, Sean Duffy and Catherine Walsh. At front: Trish Duffy and Margaret Fannon.