Cork couple raise funds for Marymount with spectacular Christmas lights display
Friends and visitors shook a leg with a dancing Santa, sang along with the giant choir, and posed with baby Jesus in a life-sized crib — or simply just took in the scintillating sights and sounds of Christmas 2015 at the home of Neilus and Margaret Lehane.
Their mind-blowing display incorporates thousands of light-bulbs, hundreds of metres of electrical wire, and up to 200 different colourful and often noisy Christmas-themed decorations. They have raised nearly €40,000 for Marymount Hospice in Cork over the past 10 years.
Neilus begins work as far back as October on the display which, when completely installed, covers virtually every square inch of the bungalow and garden at Knockavilla, near Crossbarry. Carefully signposted, it attracted more than 1,000 visitors last year.
More than 100 people attended the switch-on yesterday. Margaret says that, on a starry night, the lights can be seen from as far away as Cork airport.
“We have rope lights and shooting stars, angels and bells, candles, and candy canes,” she says.
“We have Santa in his sleigh, climbing ladders and cycling a bike!
“There are lots of flashing Merry Christmas signs, cascading waterfalls of light, an eight-foot Christmas tree, and lots more.
“We have Christmas music also, as well as a big Santa on whose knee children can sit.”
The first signpots for the display, which last year raised nearly €7,000 for charity, begin several hundred metres from the house in either direction on the Crossbarry-Bandon road.
The Lehanes, who are in their 60s and who have two adult children, began decorating their home about 15 years ago, but it was only in 2004 — when they realised the number of visitors who were being attracted by the lights was starting to rocket — that the couple started to use their Christmas display to raise funds for Marymount Hospice.
“It started off the first year with €600 raised,” says Margaret. "Last year the donations were almost €7,000 and every year it’s higher. To date, we have raised €38,863 for Marymount Hospice.”
Neighbours help to erect the display which costs the couple between €500 and €600 to run. The lights will go on from 5pm to 11pm daily until January 6.
“The men do the manual work and the women provide lashings of good food to keep them going!” says Margaret.
“Neilus and I pay for the electricity ourselves, so all donations go straight to Marymount.”
