The people of south Mayo will have an unusual opportunity to 'dunk' their friends in the name of charity. A number of events will be held in Ballinrobe on Friday next, August 11, to raise funds for the LauraLynn Foundation. Stephen Cummins, who is originally from Caherlisterane but now living in Ballinrobe, came up with the idea having seen an item on television about the work the foundation do for young children with cancer.
Mr Cummins explained: "I work as a dealer at Ballinrobe Mart and having seen the work of the charity I decided I would like to do something to help them. I met Peter Feerick and a few of my colleagues in the mart and spoke to Geraldine and Shane in Art O'Neill's and we put some ideas together."
Having already raised a substantial amount of money for the Helping Hands charity in Galway, Stephen decided to hire a dunk tank where volunteers sit on a seat over a 500 gallon tank and participants throw a ball, aimed at a target and in falls the volunteer. The tank will be located outside the Abbey Street pub. Also on the night Stephen has organised an auction in which 20 valuable items will be sold by Caherlisterane auctioneer, Pat Burke. There will also be a barbecue and raffle while local musicians are being gathered to provide the music throughout the evening and night. On Friday itself, a street collection will be held at various locations throughout the town.
Stephen said: "Our target is €8,000 for this very worthwhile charity. I would like to thank everyone who has helped out so far. We are hoping to get representatives of each of the sporting groups to participate in the dunk tank challenge and I would like to thank those who have already volunteered. It should be a great night with loads going on so I would encourage everyone to come out."
Geraldine O'Neill of Art O'Neill's pub said: "When Stephen came to us with the idea, we had no hesitiation in helping him out. This is a brilliant charity who have helped hundreds of families with sick children. There are plenty of events which should be great fun on the night and we are very hopeful of reaching our target." Anyone who wishes to help out on the day is asked to contact Geraldine on (087 ) 9225690.
