Duagh charity fashion event raises over €13k for charity

The event, which was billed as “more than a fashion show” by Esther O’Connell, who was one of the organisers of the event, saw local models taking to the catwalk in clothes from shops such as Annbury’s in Tralee, Annette’s Adare, Mairead’s Shoes Abbeyfeale and Scanlon’s Menswear Newcastle West, to name but a few.

On the amount of money raised, Esther told The Kerryman that she could simply not get over the generosity of people.

“The generosity of people on the day was huge and the atmosphere was fantastic. We’ve heard from several people since Sunday who were saying that they really enjoyed the day and they were even asking if there was any chance that we’d do it again! So, yeah, it was brilliant,” she continued.

Going on, Esther said that even after the event, people were still coming up to her on street handing her money to be added to the donations with one man even giving her €100 while another woman even doubled back on her walk to meet Esther just so she could hand her €10.

“I met my sister too and she works for Home Help. She had money and it was from mostly elderly people who were living alone who couldn’t go to the event but who still wanted to give money to it. Even though the tickets were €15, they were giving €20 and telling us to keep the change. You have no idea of the generosity, it was amazing,” Esther said.

For their part, Kerry Hospice Foundation were equally thrilled with how the event went:

“A great night was had by all and we are so grateful to you all for supporting the event. Thank you also to all involved in organising it and all who supported in any way,” they said on Thursday.