A FERMANAGH man is preparing to host a major fundraiser next week to raise money to buy ‘much needed’ equipment for the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen.
On Friday, May 3, Irvinestown man Marcus Corrigan is going to host a ‘Night at the Races’ in Charlie’s Bar in Enniskillen, with the hope of raising money to buy chair beds for the SWAH.
Mr Corrigan’s father, Joe, passed away in July. During his time in the Enniskillen hospital, the St Michael’s College employee decided he wanted to raise money for the SWAH.
“We want to do something for the community. The idea came when we had nothing to sleep on,” said Mr Corrigan. “When I was staying over [at the SWAH] with Dad [the late Joe Corrigan] at night, we had chairs to sleep on and we never really had much of a chair bed.”
During the ‘Night at the Races’, there’ll be an auction, with a range of top prizes up for grabs, including a signed Man United shirt from Bruno Fernandes and a jersey worn and signed by Liverpool’s Conor Bradley.
There’ll be a number of other sport jerseys for auction including Celtic’s Lukasz Zaluska, a signed Fermanagh and Tyrone GAA shirt and a Linfield jersey, donated by Bellanaleck man Darragh McBrien.
Fermanagh darts star Brendan Dolan has donated a shirt and a signed scarf for the auction and there’ll be other prizes confirmed on the night.
Mr Corrigan feels that the money raised and the chair beds purchased will be a major boost to the Fermanagh community and patients and families at the South West Acute Hospital.
“About a week before Dad passed away, we got a chair bed and I thought it was just fantastic,” he said.
“There’s just not enough of them in the hospital for patients and relatives staying over and it’s needed and a good cause for the hospital.
“Chair beds are coming in at over £1,000 each and the more we raise, the more we get. If we got three, four or five, it would be a massive difference to a lot of people and families.”
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