Barnardos issue urgent appeal after major fundraising opportunity cancelled due to Covid-19

Christian Doyle, 6, from Edenderry helping to launch a National appeal for Barnardos. The Cannonball supercar event was due to take place this weekend September 11-13 raising vital funds for Barnardos and families in crisis, but has been postponed due to Covid-19. Picture: Andres Poveda

As a result of coronavirus, Children’s charity Barnardos has been forced to cancel one of its flagship fundraising events, the Irish Cannonball super car event.

The event, which had pulled in almost 200,000 spectators around Ireland since it first began 12 years ago, had been due to take place on the weekend of September 11 to 13, and would have raised vital funds for the charity.

The cancellation of Cannonball is the latest fundraising blow to the charity, which has already cancelled numerous events this year.

Barnardos say that the decision to cancel the event was the right decision for all involved, but that there is now an even bigger gap in their fundraising efforts for 2020. 

Cannonball had already raised €1.125m for various charities when Barnardos was chosen as the official charity partner for this year's event.

In the hopes of recuperating some of the lost donations, Cannonball has teamed up with Barnardos to try to bridge the gap.  

A GoFundMe page has been set up and an urgent appeal for donations has been issued nationwide.

Mary Gamble, Barnardos Director of Fundraising said: “Right now, Barnardos needs your help more than ever before. 

Many of our fundraising activities in 2020 have been cancelled or postponed because of Covid-19, but the children and families we work with still need our help. 

Scenes from The Cannonball super car event in Westport last year. The event had pulled in almost 200,000 spectators around Ireland since it first began 12 years ago, but had to be cancelled as a result of Covid-19 Picture: Andres Poveda

"Covid-19 has added additional challenges to many of the families we work with who are now struggling to cope.

“Please give what you can today to ensure we can continue our vital work with vulnerable children, and provide them with a brighter future."

Alan Bannon, founder of Cannonball said: “It was absolutely the right decisions but a big disappointment to cancel Cannonball this year but we would love to be able to make a real difference to Barnardos.  

"It would be a small victory against this awful virus to hit fundraising targets even though the brakes have been put on the event for 2020.” 

- If you wish to donate to Barnardos and Cannonball’s appeal, you can do so on their GoFundMe page.   

- Further information is available on the Barnardos website.