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Our Final Fundraiser : Night at the Dogs in Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium
October 2009
Tuesday 10th February 2009 will be an unforgettable date for all residents of West Dublin and North Kildare. We remember it as NO INCINERATOR DAY because it was the day that An Bord Pleanala announced that Planning Application for a waste incinerator on the N7 near Rathcoole was refused. The decision had a huge effect on the surrounding area. No resident was looking forward to the fact that Rathcoole would be known as The Incinerator Village but most of all; we all feared the health problems that could ensue in the years to come.
The RAID committee did a huge amount of work to bring this matter to a successful end but also you, the residents played your part. Without the support of the residents and the many local business people who came on board, we would not have succeeded.
The RAID campaign cost approx. €80,000 – a huge amount of money for a small community to raise. We had many fund-raising events – Golf outing, Sponsored Walk, Door to door collections, raffles etc. and the response was brilliant. Up to recently there were outstanding bills of €9000 to be paid. A decision was made to have one last Fundraiser and through the inspiration of The Community Council and RAID, A Night at the Dogs fundraiser was organized for Friday 25th September last. Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium was the chosen venue and the whole night was a huge success. Altogether, over €9000 was raised on the night - which means that we can now clear all our debts. What a wonderful conclusion to our campaign! (It is important to note that although RAID was awarded €12,500 by An Bord Pleanala, Energy Answers has not yet paid that sum).
The generosity of the local residents came as no surprise and almost 200 of them headed for Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium. Chairperson of the Harold’s Cross Board of directors, Alan Redmond, was very helpful and his staff were most co-operative. We thank them all.
Tickets for the event were sold – also, Buster tickets, raffle tickets and advertising space for the race programme. We wish to thank our race sponsors, An Poitin Stil and M&P Construction. Altogether 19 local business concerns advertised in our programme and the following donated prizes for the raffle. Mc Cabe’s Pharmacy (Citywest), Shelton Distributors, The Mc Dermott Family, Joan Curran, Joanne’s flowers, Anvil restaurant (Saggart) , Dunne’s Stores (Saggart), Tesco (Rathcoole), Rathcoole Pharmacy .
The Buster prize was €750 and it was won by Diarmaid O’Reilly (son of Harry and Joan Reilly, Greenogue) First prize in the Raffle was a week‘s holiday in a Spanish Villa and it was donated by RAID chairperson, Neville Graver, Beechwood Lawns. The prize was won by Tata Carroll who lives in Redgap.
A big thanks to the Rathcoole Community Council, especially Community Centre manager Sean Reid. He was responsible for selling a lot of the advertising. Thanks also to the RAID committee especially Chairperson Neville Graver. Without his hard work, enthusiasm and motivation, the night would not have been so successful. We also wish to thank the Parish Priest, Fr. Enda Cunningham for giving permission to sell tickets outside all masses the weekend prior to the fundraiser. And a final thanks to Fr. Michael Shortall for including our Fundraiser Notice in the Parish Newsletter.
Footnote : Our website: rathcooleincinerator.org has to date received almost 14,000 hits. A fantastic response and obviously an inspiration to other community groups throughout the world.