JP McManus Pro-Am to deliver benevolent boost to Mid-West charities

While the high-profile celebrities and champion golfers will attract most of the attention, charities in the Mid-West will continue to benefit long after they have departed Adare Manor.

Aisling Kelleher of Novas Limerick helping homeless people in the area. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

An air of giddy excitement hangs over Limerick, with locals eagerly anticipating the arrival of stars partaking in the JP McManus Pro-Am; but for many others, the tournament is about much more than the glitz of high-profile golf — it is a reminder of the life-changing impact the money raised has had on the people of this city.

The tournament takes place today and tomorrow in Adare Manor, bringing the glamour of  celebrities such as Bill Murray and Niall Horan alongside the best of the best in world golf.

But it is the money raised, through ticket sales and donations, that will have the most profound impact on those living in Limerick and across the Mid-West.

The JP McManus Benevolent Foundation was established in 2000.

Since then, it is said to have allocated nearly €37.5m to various groups and organisations across Limerick and the Mid-West region, and the money raised at this year’s Pro-Am will follow the same path.

Novas

Novas head of policy and communications Una Burns overseeing meals being given out to the homeless of Limerick. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

One such organisation is Novas, a voluntary group and Approved Housing Body that works with families and single adults who are disadvantaged and socially excluded; primarily those who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

Novas head of policy and communications Una Burns said they have been incredibly lucky in the support that they have received from the JP McManus foundation over the last number of years.

The one project that comes to mind is one of the most remarkable outcomes — the redevelopment of Brother Russell House in Limerick,” said Ms Burns.

This is one of Limerick’s oldest homeless services and has been accommodating some of the city’s most marginalised men for almost four decades.

The facility stands how it is now, as one of the most forward-thinking homeless services in the country, due in part to a very large philanthropist donation from the foundation, Ms Burns said.

The facility now gives a home to people who are blind, people who are deaf, and those with a variety of disabilities, who would struggle greatly in regular homeless accommodation.

Moyross Community Enterprise Centre

Another one of the many groups that have benefited from the money raised is the organisation behind the Moyross Community Enterprise Centre.

Paddy Flannery, company manager at the centre, explained that if not for the foundation, the facility would likely never have been able to become the steadfast structure of the community that it is today.

“The centre first availed of the funding back in 2002, when the foundation gave us money towards the community creche," he said.

"But the most significant funding we got was in 2017 when we got €250,000 towards the expansion of the Community Enterprise Centre.

That was really important money to us at that time, because the Government departments were adamant that they would not fund the building unless we could match the funding somewhere else.” 

This facility quickly became the centre of Moyross and allowed a community which had a difficult past to grow and strive in ways not seen before.

“I don’t think people fully realised the importance of the foundation and the seed money it puts in, to enable us to do what we do,” said Mr Flannery.