Cork charities to gain from mayor’s dinner

THE Mayor of the County of Cork Danny Collins, will host a charity dinner on May 27 at the Westlodge Hotel in Bantry.

It promises to be a memorable evening of great food and entertainment, celebrating the best of Cork county and its maritime heritage, with 100% of proceeds going to Cancer Connect and Bandon Hyperbaric Oxygen Centre. The event will also mark the mayor’s year in office.

Master of ceremonies for the event will be Irish stand-up comedian, bestselling author, and award-winning broadcaster Colm O’Regan. He will be joined by C103 presenter Patricia Messinger, while special guests include Cork All-Ireland winners and celebrity comedian Bernard Casey who will do a cameo performance on the evening, as attendees round off the evening with The Boogie Band.

It will be one of the networking and social highlights of the year in Cork, but more importantly Mr Collins is keen to raise as much funds as possible for his chosen charities.

Mr Collins said: “It has been my highest honour to serve Cork county over the past year. 

"Cork county has global status when it comes to food, culture, tourism, and business. I’m really looking forward to welcoming everyone to my hometown of Bantry for this year’s edition of the Mayor’s annual charity event.

“It will be an evening of fine food and entertainment, but above all it will raise much needed funds for two very deserving charities that need our support.”

Cancer Connect

Cancer Connect is a not-for-profit organisation with charitable status that co-ordinates transport to Cork hospitals for passengers attending radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments, and cancer-related appointments.

Speaking about Cancer Connect, Mr Collins said: “A man came up to me at my bar and wanted to buy a ticket for the event.

“He said, ‘Do you know why? I remember last year when I was going for treatment in Cork, I was going to get the bus because I never knew about Cancer Connect until you told me about it’ and he said it was an unbelievable service.”

Cancer Connect manager Helen O’Driscoll told The Echo that Cancer Connect is “not a taxi service, it’s a community-based act of kindness”.

“I know we need money, and we need to keep on the road but the people that are dealing with cancer need somebody kind with them.

“For them, it’s not about the cost of the service. Now, obviously, we keep it free for them because we’re trying to make it really stress free for them,” Ms O’Driscoll added.

The Cancer Connect team has over 350 voluntary drivers. The volunteers usually bring people in their locality to their appointments. They are also recruiting for additional voluntary drivers to join the team.

“If I was to talk about Cancer Connect, I would talk about the individual stories that we have. We had a mam that needed to be home to collect her kids from school, so we got her to her appointment and back home for her school pick up.

“Another time, we had an elderly couple that were in hospital for 12 hours. One was the passenger and one was the partner. The driver brought them to the hospital, waited for 12 hours and came into their home for a cup of tea with them afterwards.

“We’re a community group with a strong community spirit,” Ms O’Driscoll added.

“The mayor’s dinner is the biggest event in our calendar this year. It will bring in money and it will also promote the service,” she added.

Bandon Hyperbaric Oxygen Centre

Bandon Hyperbaric Oxygen Centre (BHOC) is another not-for-profit organisation which houses two state-of-the-art oxygen chambers treating a wide range of conditions and patients across West Cork. Fundraising is an integral part of this volunteer-led registered charity.

Speaking about BHOC, Mr Collins said: “I’ll be quite honest; I knew very little about this place until about four years ago.

“I heard about it from a gentleman who actually had cancer and he swore after it that it cured his cancer. Whether it did or not, he used it and thought it was the greatest thing ever,” he concluded.

BHOC manager Christy Walsh said: “We had a guy named Liam Deasy who lived here and went over to Wales on holidays, and he had MS (multiple sclerosis), and he went into a chamber over and he found great relief.

“He came back, did a bit of fundraising, and bought their own chamber and set it up here in town.”

When asked about the mayor’s nomination, Mr Walsh said: “Danny nominated us, along with Cancer Care Connect as one of his charities, which is very much appreciated. We are a voluntary organisation, and we charge very minimal fees for people coming to us.”

Oxygen chambers offers an air purity of 100%, compared to approximately 21% naturally.

The same service could set people back over €100 in other parts of the country.

“When everyone is inside of the chamber, we close the door and compress the chamber. The pure oxygen is pushed into your blood stream at a rate 10 times faster than normal and you are just there reading a book and you don’t even know it’s happening.

“The oxygen is pumped around the body and finds the affected areas or the problematic areas and seems to heal them,” Mr Walsh explained.

Mr Walsh says he has seen a range of ailments and injuries receive relief after using the oxygen chambers.

“We deal with a range of therapies to help the likes of Lyme disease, radiation damage from chemotherapy, knee replacements, hip replacements etc, as well as sports injuries — hamstrings, broken bones, broken hand, broken legs. You name it and we have dealt with it.

“Long covid is another one. We have treated over 150 cases at this stage with various symptoms and we have an 80% success rate with it.”

• Tickets are €100 and each include a drinks reception, three-course dinner using some of the best local produce. To purchase tickets, see eventbrite.ie.