Fundraising event in memory of young Kildare teenager who died in Australia

ABOVE: Margaret Andrews, Noelle Condon, Siobhain Lavin Murphy and Lucia Ebbs and Professor Brendan Boyle are pictured at The Jack Murphy Memorial Society Dinner Dance in Hamlet Court Hotel in aid of CRY Ireland. For more information, please visit cry.ie

Photography: Conor Healy Photography

The Jack Murphy Memorial Society (JMMS) hosted a dinner dance at the Hamlet Hotel, Enfield; remembering Jack Murphy from Cadamstown, Broadford who died in Australia, aged 14, and in aid of CRY Ireland to fundraise for their work in raising awareness of Sudden Cardiac Death in the young. 

 On the night, over €25,000 was raised. These funds will help to enable CRY to provide vital supports and services to the public including free heart screenings, counselling and family support programmes, and a freephone helpline service for all those impacted by sudden death or cardiac conditions. 

 The Jack Murphy Memorial Society (JMMS) was created in memory of Jack Murphy, originally from Ireland who tragically passed away one month before his 15th birthday from Sudden Cardiac Death.

Siobhan Lavin Murphy - Jack Murphy's Mother and founder of JMMS said: 

“JMMS is an “Irish society”, but it’s also so much more. Jack's memorial society brings Australian and Irish communities together in Jack’s adopted home, to celebrate his Irish & Australian identities and to bring awareness to, and raise much-needed research funding to combat Sudden Cardiac Death. 

After many people had said to us that they would love to come to our dinner dance we decided to take it to Ireland to raise funds for CRY Ireland.” 

Noelle Condon, Chairperson of CRY Ireland added: 

“We are very grateful to Siobhan and the Jack Murphy Memorial Society for allowing us to be their charity partner of choice and helping us to raise vital funds to support families affected by Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD).

CRY Ireland is a charity that supports families across the 32 counties of Ireland that have lost loved ones to SCD by facilitating free access to cardiac assessments, providing counselling and family support and supporting research into the causes and prevention of SCD.

It is estimated that up to 80 people under the age of 35 die in Ireland each year to SCD, with many others affected by a diagnosis of an inherited cardiac condition. CRY is honoured to partner with bereaved families, like the Murphy family, to help raise awareness of SCD and provide services to those impacted such as our freephone helpline.”