Eight groups benefit from Liam Miller tribute funds
Children with cancer and a man who was paralysed in an accident are just some of the beneficiaries of the €1.5m raised by a Liam Miller Tribute Match.
The money will also help fund the development of a family room in the oncology unit at the hospital where the footballer was treated.
The funds will go towards helping end-of-life care services at Marymount Hospice, as well as assisting Jack O’Driscoll, the young man from Mayfield in Cork City who suffered life-changing injuries in a freak accident during Storm Emma.
Recipients of match funds expressed thanks and amazement at yesterday’s announcement by match organisers of the donation windfall that resulted from the hugely successful game held at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
A total of €1.5m was raised from the game and associated events, with €1m to be placed in a trust for the family of the former Celtic, Manchester United, and Cork City star. The remaining €500,000 has been dispersed across eight organisations, with €250,000 being donated to Marymount Hospice in Cork, where Liam received end-of-life care.
Last year, the facility helped with the care of approximately 3,000 patients and their families. It must raise €3m each year in fundraising.
It said: “The board and management team of Marymount are deeply grateful to the organising committee of the Liam Miller tribute event for generously supporting Marymount in this way.”
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Another €100,000 is being donated to the Jack O’Driscoll Fund. Jack was paralysed when he damaged vertebrae in his neck while jumping on snow on a soccer pitch during Storm Emma.
Organisers also said €35,000 will be donated to the Mercy University Hospital Foundation and another €35,000 will go to the Oesophageal Cancer Fund.
Liam received treatment at the Mercy and staff at the facility only learned of the donation an hour before the official announcement.
Micheál Sheridan, CEO of the Mercy University Hospital Foundation, said the organisation is “humbled” by the donation.
“From our perspective, a donation from the Liam Miller match really is a mark of the care that Liam and his family experienced,” he said.
Mr Sheridan said the money will be used in three ways: Developing a family room within the medical oncology unit; resourcing the paediatric oncology outreach nursing service, which means children with cancer can receive more treatment at home; and finally, expanding psycho-oncology services to look after the mental health requirements of those who receive a cancer diagnosis.
Sums of €20,000 each will be donated to Enable Ireland, Cork Simon, Cork Penny Dinners, and Down Syndrome Cork.
