John Hayes, Irish Hereford Prime ambassador; Larry Fleming, Hooves 4 Hospice, Michael Cleary, Irish Hereford Prime; and Gerry Fagan, Hooves 4 Hospice. Photo: Jeff Harvey

Irish Hereford Prime backing Hooves 4 Hospice

Irish Hereford Prime (IHP) have been supporters of the Hooves 4 Hospice fundraising project since early 2020, and their efforts have raised more than €20,000.

Of the 18 animals that IHP sourced, 13 have been sold, raising €15,420.

IHP also sourced cash donations of €2,000, and they chose Hooves 4 Hospice as their charity for their calendars for 2021 and 2022, and sales of those have generated €4,550.

A cheque for that amount has been presented to Larry Fleming of Tullamore Lions Club by former Irish rugby international and Irish Hereford Prime ambassador, John Hayes.

Mr Hayes said: “We at Irish Hereford Prime have been amazed and touched by the outpouring of warmth from our members, for which we are so thankful. Their dedication and generosity have been truly inspiring, and we look forward to seeing this community hospice standing strong.”

Hooves 4 Hospice, which is organised by Tullamore Lions Club with the assistance of other local Lions Clubs, is raising money to build a level 3 hospice for the midland region.

Pat Lalor, chairman of the project, said; “The Hooves 4 Hospice project was given a great boost soon after launch, when Irish Hereford Prime decided to give it their full support.

"Having the support of a quality national brand recognised the length and breadth of the country is a significant endorsement of the work that we are doing.”

When Hooves 4 Hospice featured on RTÉ’s Ear to the Ground in December 2021, the sale of an IHP animal at GVM Tullamore, which was donated and reared by Ivor Deverell, Ballyaville, Geashill, Tullamore, was one of the items in the programme. Ivor’s animal made €1,800.

The presentation of funds to IHP ambassador, John Hayes, recently took place on the farm of Tom Cregan, Tullaha, Broadford, County Limerick. On hearing about the Hooves 4 Hospice project, Mr Cregan in his generosity, immediately donated an animal of his own to the project.

Mr Lalor said: “I would like to thank IHP and all their farmer members who have so generously produced an animal for our project. Since the project commenced, our committee has been constantly overwhelmed by the generosity of farming families and others.

“We are well on our way to reaching our target of €1,000,000. We have more than 600 animals on our database pledged to our project by farmers, but we would be delighted to accept any additional animals to help us realise our dream of one day having our own regional hospice in the midlands.”

Find out more about Hooves 4 Hospice at www.h4h.midlandhospice.ie or call Gerry on 085 8775477.