Fishmonger and tailor true to their word after visiting the Queen
The country’s best known fishmonger, Cork’s English Market trader Pat O’Connell, and his tailor, Eddie Mullins of Fitzgerald Menswear on St Patrick’s St, made a joint donation to Marymount University Hospital and Hospice following Pat’s trip to Buckingham Palace last month.
Eddie came forward earlier in March to dress Pat, who was invited to attend a royal reception for the Irish community hosted by Queen Elizabeth.
They both agreed after the suit deal to make a donation to the hospice, which cared for Pat’s late mother.
And true to their word, they presented the cash and visited the hospice last night to see first-hand how their donation, and those of others, help to maintain and expand the hospice’s range of services.
During a tour of the facility, Daniel Cowman, chairman of the Friends of Marymount, showed them the newly opened St Christopher’s Ward.
“It opened in March and brings the number of palliative care beds we have here from 24 to 44,” he said.
Donations like that from Pat and Eddie have helped open the ward, he said.
But Daniel said donations are also helping to fund the hospice’s community palliative care team which visits people in their homes across Cork City and county.
“We are a team of about 30 volunteers who are tasked with fundraising to maintain the essential services and facilities here at Marymount,” he said.
“We need to raise €2.4m every year just to maintain the services.
“We are heavily reliant on donations from the public. Without them, we just couldn’t offer the facilities or services we do.”
A number of major fundraisers are coming up, including the nationwide coffee morning and Sunflower Days initiative in June, and Dan Seaman Motors has donated a Fiat 500L which Marymount plans to raffle on June 3.
