Mercy named as Irish Open charity

The Mercy Hospital Foundation has been named the official charity of this year’s Irish Open golf championship at Fota Island in Cork.

The Foundation was selected from a shortlist of local charities by the European Tour’s charitable arm — the Trustees of the Tour Players Foundation (TPF) — who look to support charities in the regions where the European Tour hold events, with a focus on children and young people.

A range of charitable initiatives at this year’s Irish Open on June 19 -22, will help raise funds for the Mercy Hospital’s Kids and Teens Appeal, which was launched earlier this year with the target of raising €100,000 to benefit paediatric services.

Micheál Sheridan, CEO of the Mercy Hospital Foundation, expressed his delight at the announcement and said it would help towards providing a world class hospital.

Shane Lowry, who chased Rory McIlroy all the way to the line in last week’s BMW PGA Championship, congratulated the Mercy Hospital Foundation on becoming the Irish Open Official Charity.

“My girlfriend works as a children’s nurse so I can appreciate the efforts that go into making the youngsters’ lives better,” he said.