Family of late Burnfoot midwife Helen McLaughlin raise €11,000 in her memory

More than €11,000 has been raised for the Donegal Hospice by the family of the late Burnfoot midwife Helen McLaughlin.

The funds were raised by a concert in December and by the sale of a Christmas CD, An Spideog, made by Helen’s musician daughter Edel, who described her late mother as “a much-loved wife, mother, grandmother, friend and midwife”.  

Helen spent two and a half weeks in the hospice before she passed away in April 2022. 

Originally from Carndonagh, she raised her family in Burnfoot after she married her husband Dominic. She was well-known and respected as a midwife, having worked for 36 years in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.

Helen’s family wanted to raise awareness about the hospice and the facilities it provides and to raise funds to support the charity.

They thanked everyone who purchased a copy of An Spideog, made a donation, or offered a kind word of encouragement during their efforts which raised a total of €11,315. 

Edel recorded the instrumental album of Christmas tunes at Drumdubh Studios in Burtonport with Joe Rodgers as sound engineer and guitarist on the CD. 

“We are so grateful to Joe who gave tirelessly of his time, patience and talents to bring this album together,” she said. 

The album was launched on December 9 at a fundraising concert in The Halfway House, Burnfoot and guest musicians included The Henry Girls.

“We have so many people to thank for helping to make this event happen,” Edel said. “We were genuinely overwhelmed by the level of support which continued long after our concert, and well into the new year. We hope that these funds will help many more families during their hour of need.

“We were very pleased to present the final sum of €11,315 to the staff at The Donegal Hospice recently. We know that these funds will be used to provide palliative care including equipment (e.g. syringe driver),  home help, and night nursing to the people of Co Donegal.  The hospice is such a special place, and the atmosphere there is really calm.  Although we were scared to begin with, we met the staff and they listened to our story with compassion and care. Mum stayed at the hospice for two and a half weeks. It became our home during that time, and we took turns of staying the nights with Mum. We were delighted to present the funds raised to two very special ladies  - May and Pauline. 

“May recognised Mum’s name immediately when she came in. Mum had delivered her first baby girl back in 1999 in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. May gave birth to her daughter Emily just before the millennium. She recalled Mum’s kindness and produced a beautiful letter Mum had written to her as a thank you note for a gift May have given to her. We were shocked and delighted to see the letter, which May insisted on giving back to our family. This meant a lot to us. The letter is now framed and the story has been shared many times.

“Pauline also offered kind words of support during Mum’s stay, and crocheted five red hearts for our family to take home with us.  Dad continues to place the heart under his pillow at night, and this has helped us to keep Mum’s memory alive. Pauline kindly stayed with us after Mum passed away, even though her 12-hour shift had finished.  We are forever grateful to her, to May, and to all of the staff at The Donegal Hospice.”

Charity walk in memory of Carndonagh man Shane Toye

The walk, which will take place on Shane’s 20th anniversary, is raising funds for The Donegal branch of the Irish Kidney Association and The Friends of Inishowen Hospice

The family said they like to thank all the sponsors for the event with generous prizes from:  Silver Birch Gallery from Sharon Mc Daid, Carndonagh (€250 voucher); An original graphite print from local artist Terry Tedstone; Transform Gym, Burnfoot;  Neal Doherty Jewellers & Gift Shop, Carndonagh;  Harbour Inn, Lisfannon; The Foot Inn, Burnfoot; Doherty’s Cafe, Bridgend; Bradley’s Service Station, Fahan; Bonny & Bold, Burnfoot; Inishowen Gateway Hotel, The Lake of Shadows, Buncrana; Gallagher’s Butcher’s, Bakery & Deli, Strabane; Scarpello & Co. Bakery House & Pizza, Derry; Burnfoot Service Station; Food Guru, Burnfoot; Hegarty’s, Buncrana; Gap Coffee Co, Bridgend; Hair by Steve, Fahan; The Halfway Stores Barber’s shop, Bridgend;  Gill’s Off Licence, Buncrana. They would also really like to thank everyone who helped to sell copies of the CD: Coreen Robinson, Bernadette Brennan, Neal Doherty Jewellers, Carndonagh, Sinéad’s Gift Shop, Clonmany, Mac’s bookshop, Buncrana and Veritas in Letterkenny. A special word of thanks goes to Isobel at the hospice for speaking on the night on behalf of the hospice.  

“We hope that we have not left anyone out, and we are very grateful to everyone who has supported us on this journey,” Edel said.

“We have so many people to thank for helping to make this event happen. We are especially grateful to The Henry Girls, and all of the local artists for taking time out of their busy schedules to be with us on the night. A huge thank you to Martin Gallagher and all of the crew at The Halfway House for the use of such a beautiful venue, to Noel Boylan on sound, and to Marcas O Murchú, who was MC on the night. Thanks also to all of our extended family who helped with ticket sales and the raffle.”