A sum of over €35,000 has been raised at a recent charity livestock sale at Bandon Mart in Co. Cork, in memory of a young dairy farmer who died aged 37.
Comprising 82 lots ranging from pedigree bulls to calves and non-livestock donations, the total amount of money raised at the mart was around €37,500, according to Bandon Mart.
A 585kg pedigree Aubrac bull made €2,100 and an Aberdeen Angus bull at 1,030kg was sold for €2,020.
The master of ceremonies (MC) of the charity event was ‘Tommy the Vet’, Tommy Heffernan, and retired Co. Cork hurler, Timmy McCarthy, also joined as the celebrity auctioneer.
All proceeds made at the event were donated to Breakthrough, an Irish medical research charity which will invest the funds in brain-cancer research.
The livestock sale ran in memory of Denis Canniffe from Bandon who passed away last year after being diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer.
Denis was farming part-time on the family dairy farm after studying agricultural science at University College Dublin (UCD).
Speaking to Agriland, his wife Kate Canniffe recalled realising how little research funding goes into this form of cancer in Ireland, and added that more investment needs to be put into new brain-cancer treatment.
Kate would like to thank everyone who donated both money and animals. Bandon Mart added that it is delighted, as a mart, to be in association with the fundraiser.
A financial contribution to the Denis Canniffe Memorial Fundraiser can be made online until May.