After months of hard work and determination, our Lord of the Mount Fundraiser came to an end in Egan’s Marquee last night.
Ollie Baker kicked off proceedings by welcoming the good-sized crowd. He mentioned that although this particular fundraiser only began 6 months ago, the initial development of our facilities started back in 2014 with the buying and development of our new all-weather pitch and walking track. Through the huge success of our Strictly Come Dancing and Sponsor a Sod campaigns, we developed our facilities which are the envy of many clubs. However, more recently attention has turned to how we can cater for our ever-increasing numbers and thus, through the great vision and guile of our Development Committee, the Lord of the Mount Fundraiser was reborn. Ollie gave a brief run down on the history of this tradition in our locality. Dating back to 1981, the campaign rose funds for 4 beneficiaries including our club and after months of hard work, Jay Egan was crowned the first Lord of the Mount.
Ollie then introduced our 3 candidates: John G Buckley, Mark ‘Molly’ Malone and Richie Higgins. He expressed gratitude to the 3 lads and stated how the club will forever be extremely in debt to them for their Trojan efforts over the past few months. Ollie finished by commended the campaign, expressing the sense of pride of place and community that has been felt throughout it.
The draw for our corporate sponsors then took place with Sheila Allen drawing out McSharry’s Pharmacy as the lucky winners of 2 All Ireland Tickets.
An auction in aid of Mount Temple Community Hall took place next with John G taking to the floor as master auctioneer. This facility is of as much value as anything that happens in our club grounds. It is a cherished part of the community and thanks to the generosity of all those on the night, we managed to raise €6,330. Thank you to everyone who supported.
Finally, it was time for the 3 Wise Men to have their glory. Entering the Marquee like boxers entering the ring, it was a spectacle enjoyed by all.
First up was John G who mentioned his highlight being his hard-working team and the endless generosity of people near and far.
Next up was ‘The Chairman’ Richie Higgins. He spoke about the need of new facilities to cater for our players from U5 up to senior as the driving force for his involvement. His highlight was Foster & Allen’s show in aid of the development and expressed sincere gratitude to all involved on the night.
Last, but by no means least was Mark ‘Molly’ Malone. Molly mentioned how, when asked he had no doubts about being involved. He paid tribute to his tough competition and thanked everyone for their support, particularly everyone on his fundraising team. Behind everyone good leader is a good team was very much the sentiment to his words.
Before the grand total was announced, it was our Club Development Officer Kevin Connaughton’s turn to speak. Kevin was delighted to welcome the big turnout to bring our Lord of the Mount Fundraiser to a close. He expressed sincere gratitude to his Development Committee members, Damien Dolan, Padraig Killane, Colin White and Ronan Carroll for their work over the past 6 months. He expressed further thanks to Damien and Joe Roarke for the important role they played, to Start Solar for supporting the cost of our draw and to Grennan’s for supplying the fertiliser. Kevin also thanked Pallas marketing for all their help. He also mentioned Tom Daly for his organising of the mock wedding and to those involved. Other expressions of gratitude included the hall committee, Egan’s pub, local businesses and of course the local houses and families for their incredible generosity. Kevin was delighted to announce we have recently been granted planning permission and can look forward to work on our new clubhouse starting in the near future. To finish, Kevin paid a special tribute to the 3 candidates as without them, there would be no fundraiser. The lads put in a tremendous effort and had plenty of craic along the way. He mentioned that it was never about winning and that they will always be remembered for what they have done for our club. Damien then made a special presentation to John, Richie and Mark as a memento of their involvement.
Without further ado, the three candidates revealed the grand total of their fundraising efforts. An incredible €138,849 was raised for the new development of our club grounds. We express sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed in anyway. Without your support, we wouldn’t be in the position to further develop our facilities and we cannot wait until the day that we can cut the ribbon and welcome all in to see what we have achieved together as a club.
After a lot of anticipation, the winner of the Lord of the Mount was revealed. Despite a close battle, John G Buckley was crowned Lord of the Mount. Former Lord Jay presented John with his chain to rapturous applause. John once again thanked all for their support and generosity. He reiterated Kevin’s words in that it wasn’t about winning or losing. He finished by saying there was one winner: our club.
The night was topped off by music from Streetwise and it brings an end to what is sure to be a very memorable fundraising campaign.