'An unstoppable force of nature': Cork grandmother raises €120,000 for charities

When Margaret Daly was in her mid-forties, with a house, three children and a job, there wasn’t a whole lot of sitting-around time to be had.

But one day, when the busy mum, who also worked as a home help and child-minder, managed to snatch a few precious minutes to read The Echo, she spotted an advertisement which brought to mind the inspiring words of her mother Nora.

Nora had passed away when Margaret was just 24, but her personal motto was one which would inform her daughter’s life and inspire her to raise more than €120,000 for charity over the years to come:

“If you can help anyone or do someone a bit of good, do it. Help them,” was what Nora always said.

The newspaper advertisement that Margaret was now reading was seeking volunteers to host fundraising coffee mornings for what is now Marymount Hospice – and Margaret answered the call.

It was 1994 and in the midst of a grim recession when the mother-of-three travelled from her home in the small village of Shannonvale outside the West Cork town of Clonakilty to meet hospice staff and undergo an assessment of her suitability for the fund-raising morning.

“They explained what I would do and how it would work,” she recalls.

“We held our first coffee morning that September, and we have held one every September since, apart from the one we missed at the start of the pandemic!”

To date, and over 32 years, Margaret and her band of helpers have raised a staggering €57,000-plus for Marymount.

But this was only the beginning.

Charity fundraisers and community work were to become a major part of Margaret’s daily life over the ensuing decades.

Now aged 77 and a grandmother of five children aged from three to 16, the West Cork woman has been described by loved ones as “an unstoppable force of nature who keeps going no matter what.”

Over several decades, she has given her time and effort to assist a staggering range of organisations.

These include the Cope Foundation, Clonakilty GAA Club, Meals on Wheels, the Parents’ Association of her local primary school, St Joseph’s National School, and the Darkness into Light campaign.

She also helps organise everything from charity fund-raisers like tractor runs, to table quizzes for her beloved Shannonvale Community Association.

But the story doesn’t end there. Far from it.

Life turned head over heels for Margaret in April, 2015, following a visit to the GP.

That day, she was looking after her young grandson – on top of everything else, she’s a very hands-on granny - and when he complained of earache she brought him to the doctor.

By the by, she casually mentioned that she might be needing an appointment herself and the doctor, a good friend, asked why:

“Her ears pricked up immediately!” Margaret recalls. “ She asked me what was wrong. I told her I’d been passing a bit of blood for a few months.”

Margaret was put straight up on the examination table.

Next came an immediate referral to Cork University Hospital for a colonoscopy, a medical procedure which examines the inside of the colon or large bowel for signs of disease, such as bowel cancer or other conditions.

The results were terrifying.

Margaret had Stage Four bowel cancer.

“There is no doubt I was in the red territory,” recalls Margaret.

“The staff were fantastic. I couldn’t speak highly enough of them.”

Prior to surgery, the consultant explained that if the tumour was contained in her bowel, Margaret’s chances were good.

However, he warned that “if it had penetrated through the wall of the bowel I would be in trouble. I was very worried.”

The operation took place shortly afterwards and, two weeks later, Margaret got the all-clear - the tumour had indeed remained contained in the bowel.

“I was told I needed no further treatment. I’ve been great ever since, and all thanks to those wonderful staff!”

Here’s the thing.

On receiving such news, most of us would probably just have thanked our lucky stars to still be alive and got on with the day-to-day.

Not Margaret.

After being discharged from hospital in May, she went back to doing one of the things she does best.

She gave back:

“I decided to fundraise for the CUH cancer unit. I got a few of my buddies in the Shannonvale Road Bowling Club together and we organised a weekend of fundraising.

“We’ve done this every year since.”

To date, and including this year’s fundraising total, the group has raised more than €63,000 for the unit.

Margaret remains involved in the Shannonvale Bowling Association - and with good reason.

“This autumn has been taken up with organising the Liam Daly Perpetual Memorial Cup in memory of my late husband Liam, a great fan of road bowling, who passed away three years ago,” she said.

“Liam and the family enjoyed bowling but I never did it. I just love going out and meeting my buddies and enjoying the social side of it.”

The Liam Daly Perpetual Memorial Daly Cup is sponsored by Shannonvale bowling club and the finals are taking place this weekend.

In the meantime, Margaret has no intention of slowing down:

“I just have a drive to help people – and, you know, some day I might want someone to help me!

“That’s not the motivation for what I do, but it is something I occasionally think about.”

Currently, the pensioner is still fundraising and volunteering with Marymount Hospice, the cancer unit at CUH, her local bowling club, and the Darkness into Light annual event, to name but a few.

“And you never know,” she quips: “There might be more new ones coming up yet!”