A group of big hearted farmers who organise a charity auction every year to raise money for good causes in Ireland have hit their biggest ever fundraising total this Christmas.
The annual event hosted by the group – who call themselves the Poor Farmers’ Association (PFA) – raised a total of €52,450 which will all be donated to charitable causes.
Every year the PFA organise a charity auction which is traditionally held by the farmers’ group at Teague’s Bar in Ardara, Co. Donegal.
This year’s marked the 17th consecutive year of the annual charity auction which returned in person to Teague’s and was also online.
There were almost 170 lots up for grabs on the night but it was no ordinary auction as bids came in thick and fast for bales of silage, sheep, bags of turf and machinery hire.
Among some of the more interesting lots was Artificial Insemination (AI) bull straws, farm equipment, a cuddly toy and many other highly sought after items.
The gallery below shows just some of the lots that were up for auction on the night:
The proceeds from the event will be donated to Ability Rocks, the Charlie Bennett Fund, Hugh’s House, Dublin and the Irish Heart Foundation.
Speaking to Agriland, one of the event organisers and auctioneer on the night Daniel Moy explained the origins of charity auction and why it began.
“This is the 17th year of the event and it all started out when a few of us got together and said we should give it a go. The first year we thought if we raised €1,000 it would be great. We ended up raising €13,000 that year and averaged averaged around €27,000/year since.
“This year is the most money we have ever raised. Its success is down to the generosity of the people living in our locality. We have never had to ask for anything for the auction. Everything has always been donated and the bidders are always good so it works well.”
Daniel said he particularly wanted to thank LSL Auctions for allowing the group to host the event on its online platform.
About the charities
Daniel explained that Ability Rocks is an organisation that runs fun events for children with additional needs in the region.
“We try to keep the charities as local as we can,” Daniel added.
“Hugh’s House is a place in Dublin where families can stay if some of their children are in hospital in Dublin getting treatment.
“The Charlie Bennett fund is an emergency fund for people in the locality if they are under pressure or an unforeseen crises arises.”
Daniel has thanked everyone who provided donations and supported the event this year and is already making plans for the charity event to return next year.