Call for Cork volunteers to assist with Daffodil Day on Friday

Daffodil Day is almost upon us, and organisers in Ballincollig are urgently appealing for volunteers to help out for an hour or two this Friday.

Ireland has one of the highest rates of cancer in the EU, and, according to the National Cancer Registry Ireland, about one in every two people are likely to receive a cancer diagnosis at some point in their lives.

About 42,000 tumours are diagnosed here every year, with more than half of them invasive. About 9,800 people die every year from cancer, and the HSE says that four in every 10 cancers is preventable.

The good news is that with medical advances and earlier detections, cancer survival rates are improving all the time, and by the end of 2022, about 221,000 people were living with or beyond a cancer diagnosis in Ireland, or about 4.35% of the population.

The Irish Cancer Society was founded by Dr Austin Darragh in 1963 and is a community of patients, survivors, volunteers, supporters, health and social care professionals, and researchers.

SYMBOL OF HOPE

Cancer organisations across the world use the daffodil as a symbol of hope for people affected by cancer, with daffodils traditionally marking the return of spring and new life.

The daffodil was first used by a cancer charity fundraiser in Toronto in the 1950s, when volunteers organised coffee mornings to raise money for cancer awareness and research, and guests were given daffodils in thanks for their support.

The Canadian innovation made a great impression upon founding members of the Irish Cancer Society, and Ireland’s first Daffodil Day was held in 1988.

Cancer was almost a taboo subject in Ireland in the 1980s, and Daffodil Day helped to break that silence. The target for that first fundraising day was £100,000, and £320,000 was raised.

Nowadays, Daffodil Day every year raises more than €5m for the Irish Cancer Society, which typically only receives about 5% of its income from State aid.

Last year, according to the Irish Cancer Society, Daffodil Day paid for 29,800 lifts for patients, 14,300 counselling sessions, 5,900 nights of night nursing services, 26,700 conversations on the society’s support line, and 179 families were helped by the society’s children’s fund.

Ann McGrath has organised Daffodil Day in Ballincollig for the past three years, and like many people, she has lost family members to cancer.

“There isn’t a family in Ireland that hasn’t been touched by cancer, and Daffodil Day is a vital way of raising funds to help the Irish Cancer Society,” she said.

“We will have the buckets out on Friday, and we really need people to turn out and support us, and we also need volunteers to help collect with us, especially in the afternoon.”

To volunteer to help out on Friday, contact Ann McGrath on 086-8670274.