A group of sheep farmers in Co. Roscommon have come up with a unique way to raise over €2000 for charity – by donating the proceeds of wool sales to the Mayo/Roscommon Hospice.
One of the organisers of the collection, Ann Sheridan, explained:
“We are local sheep farmers from the general Kilmore area of north Roscommon and we are collecting wool and donating the proceeds to the Mayo/Roscommon Hospice.
“This was an idea that sprang to mind with price of wool being so low and the fact we were getting cheques for €10/€15/€20 for wool- it was costing the wool buyer to actually write the cheques.
“We spoke with some local farmers about the idea of giving the money collected to a local charity and everyone said they would be delighted to do that.
“A wool merchant, P Coffey and Sons from Co. Roscommon, was contacted to collect the wool.
“We also got in touch with a local man, Brian, who has been a stalwart during the Covid-19 pandemic locally.
“He set up a WhatsApp group and kept us informed and updated during lockdown and kept us entertained with quizzes and bingo.
“He sent out our message and word spread locally and to the neighbouring parishes.
“We contacted Mayo/Roscommon Hospice and spoke to a lovely lady called Josephine, she thought the idea was very thoughtful and thanked all the farmers for doing so.”
The collection morning
“The morning of July 14 arrived, some fleeces were still arriving,” she added.
“The truck pulled into our yard and thankfully, Patrick and Stephen from the wool merchant had the hindsight to bring another truck and a trailer.
“These vehicles as it turns out were all needed and a little bit of hard work was required.
“We couldn’t believe the final tally weighing in at just over 7t.
“I’d like to say a a huge thank you to the farmers that donated from our parish and reaching as far as Tarmonbarry; Tulsk; Creeve; Elphin; and Croghan, it far exceeded our expectations.
“After totting up all the weights and doing the calculations the final amount came to €1822.25 and with some private donations we handed over €2200 to Mayo/Roscommon Hospice.”