The winner of the Maree Oranmore FC Win a Home in Oranmore competition was announced live on Friday July 21 at the Galway Bay Golf Resort in Renville, Oranmore with independent auditor Des O'Brien of DHKN overseeing the action. It was also live streamed to more than 10,000 online viewers. The competition lines closed for ticket sales at 5.30pm on Friday June 21 and finished with a staggering 16,061 total tickets in the draw, making it the most successful win a home draw to take place in the island of Ireland.
Mandy Maher an Kieran O'Malley took the mantle of co-Mcs for the evening. Mandy was thrilled to announce the winner of the highly anticipated Win a Home competition as Regina Pepper Hobbs (Mulvey ) of Carrick-On-Shannon was the lucky randomly selected recipient of the keys to No 44, a new AA-rated three bedroom home in the Galway’s most sought-after address, the village of Oranmore, Co Galway.
The Win a Home giveaway, which began on October 2023, attracted thousands of participants from across the country, with Dublin attracting the most ticket sales, a phenomenal 49 per cent of the total.
"We are ecstatic to present this incredible prize to Regina," said Olivia Breene, head of fundraising for the Win A Home in Oranmore initiative and PRO for Maree Oranmore FC.
"We couldn't be happier for Regina and her husband Reuben. We look forward to welcoming them both to our wonderful community and seeing them create wonderful memories in their new home. It’s so lovely to know we have just given a life changing start to a young couple who now can move home to create a life for themselves. It’s amazing when you then about it.
"On behalf of the club we thank Enda from Lauren Construction & Shane from O'Connor Developments for being so supportive of the initiative. Shout out to Niall Browne of O'Donnellan & Joyce for making all the introductions. You have made a young family's dream come true."
Regina is originally from Carrick-on-Shannon, and her husband Reuben is from Westport. They met on holidays and reconnected in Galway afterwards. Both studied in University of Galway and always considered Galway a second home. After several years of living together in Galway, they moved to Canada with the goal of returning to Galway and hopefully being able to afford a home one day. They are still in shock with this life changing prize.
“We got married last year and are expecting our first baby in October so the timing could not have been more perfect," Regina said. "It’s a life changing opportunity that we are so grateful for. We are looking forward to being part of the Oranmore community. Being able to start our family and raise our kid in Galway is a dream come true for us. We can’t wait for our little fella to play for Maree Oranmore FC.”
Niall McBride, treasurer and secretary of Maree Oranmore FC, would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in the Win A Home competition. Maree Oranmore FC remains committed to its mission of enabling children of all levels to to have a place to play ball. The success of this competition will now realise that vision with funds going to building a new five-a-side and nine-a-side pitches together with additional facilities to support the growth and success of the game in Maree Oranmore FC.
Olivia Breene of MOFC said: "This initiative was so much more than a Win A Home competition. Its success also saw our chosen charity partner, youth mental health organisation A Lust For Life, receive a donation of €79,470 which will support the delivery of the mission to have the A Lust For Life programme available to every primary school child on the island of Ireland free of charge. The charity has big plans and Maree Oranmore FC are happy to announce they will continue this partnership into the future."
MOFC chairman Philip Smith thanked the hard work and dedication of the fundraising committee, led by Olivia Breene, Niall McBride, Brian Carey, Paul O'Flynn and Ruth Broderick, together with digital partner IMS Marketing, and design and video partner AVCOM. "Thank you to Sound to Light for production on the night and Connacht Hospitality Group who were our venue hosts for the evening in the stunning setting of the Galway Bay Golf Resort," he said. "And most importantly to those who volunteered an hour or two, a day, a week or any time at all. Together we have made this happen. To every single person who bought a ticket, you will be part of building our legacy for future generations here in MOFC and have supported A Lust For Life in their mission to support our children as they navigate the ups and downs of life."
Finally, Olivia Breene said: "This has been without a doubt the most challenging and amazing experience to be part of. Friday was an immense sense of pride, we really did do something phenomenal for one small soccer club in a village in the west of Ireland. It’s been a very hard and emotional year for the club, losing our beloved founding father, honorary secretary Martin Horrigan, earlier this year. All I can say is, I hope we did you proud."
