Footie friends raise thousands in Dungannon charity match

A DUNGANNON Select side came together to play Dungannon Sands United at DUY last weekend for a special charity game which raised thousands of pounds for two very worthy charitable causes.

In just over a week, plans were hastily put together for the charity match at the Dungannon United Youth grounds on Saturday, which featured 36 players of varying abilities and fitness, but who all contributed to the fantastic total of £7,570 which will be shared between the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust and the Sands charity which helps families who have suffered the loss of a child.

Sean McIntosh, familiar to many as a business development executive with the Dungannon Herald and stalwart of the Clarkes GAA club, was one of the organisers of the game. He said he was blown away by the level of generosity shown over such a short fundraising period.

“There is a group of us footie lads who would play indoor games a few times a week and we would often play along with some of the fellas from the Sands Utd Dungannon team and they were saying to us, that they would normally organise an 11-a-side game around this time of year,” said Sean.

“So when we got talking we decided we – the indoor lads – would have a game against the Sands team and that we would also raise money for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust who did such great work in bringing home Damian Casey and helping other families in similar circumstances.

“There is a big affinity with the hurling club here in the town and Damian was very highly thought of. His passing has had a massive impact on so many people from the town, across the county and throughout the whole of Ireland.

“We also know how important the Sands charity has been for the fellas that we play football with and how it has helped them through very difficult times.

“As part of the fundraising we decided that each player should make a donation to play in the game, as well as collect donations from friends and family.”

Sean continued, “Some of the amounts raised were unbelievable; One fella raised £2,500 while another raised over £1,000, and everybody really played their part in raising the money for these great two charities.

“We would really like to thank Joe McAree for the pitch at DUY and access to the changing facilities all free of charge. We also want to thank Vector Design who produced the sponsorship forms and also Justin McKenna who referred the game free of charge. Huge thanks also to Neil Brennan, who organised everything with the Sands lads, and was a great help from start to finish.

“Everyone played their part and we’re just delighted and very thankful to all those who donated so generously.”

Earlier this month, the Herald reported that more than £37,000 had been raised through the Eoghan Ruadh hurling club in Dungannon for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust in memory of their star player Damian Casey who passed away last month.

And the donations have continued to flood in from across the country. These include Ruairi Ógs and Antrim legend, Terence “Sambo” McNaughton and his son Christy, from the Lurig Bar in Cushendall, who organised a raffle in memory of Damian raising a fantastic £3,000 for the Trust.

Eoghan Ruadh chairman Tony Donnelly said they were delighted to be supporting such an important cause. “The Kevin Bell Trust does incredible work.

“It has an expertise that can cut through legislation that grieving families would struggle to deal with. The response across the community is also reflective of how popular Damian Casey was,” said Tony.