Thurles Sarsfields raise huge money in aid of the Dillon Quirke Foundation ‘Jersey4life’

Thurles Sarsfields Jersey4life fundraiser in aid of the Dillon Quirke Foundation has been a roaring success, as the fundraising drive confirmed last weekend that they have raised over €65,000 for the worthy cause.

The fundraiser relied on the generosity of big names donating jerseys to the mid Tipperary club, who then auctioned off the donations to the highest bidder to raise money for the foundation.

Some famous jerseys were on sale over the course of the last few months and garnered bug interest from the public. From Noel McGrath to Alan Tynan to TJ Reid and Tommy Walsh, with Declan Ryan’s iconic number 14 jersey worn in the 2001 All-Ireland soccer jerseys.

There were even donations from outside GAA circles with Welsh soccer star Gareth Bale donating a jersey, and they even received an Ireland rugby jersey from when they beat New Zealand last Autumn.

The idea first came about when Thurles Sarsfields looked for ways to help engage with the local community and work with a charity, and the Dillon Quirke Foundation was an obvious choice with the Dillon Quirke close to the hearts of so many members of the club.

Cian Stakelum came up with the initial concept and worked closely with his brother as well as his father Conor Stakelum senior and Billy McCarthy who teased it out further.

The campaign was launched in the centre with the help of Ben Walsh, and collecting the jerseys was a huge task which was led by Thurles Sarsfields club members Stephen Maher Aidan Ryan and Stephen Cahill who worked tirelessly in making the jerseys available on the website.

Building a website and social media and creating strategy was completed by current Tipperary senior hurler Conor Stakelum junior, along with Billy McCarthy and camogie player Emma Carey.

The whole club utilised their network and almost every member donated a jersey or put the foundation in contact with someone who had a donation to give.

Cian Treacy and Ger Corbett helped in facilitating more jerseys, finally picking, packing and sending out orders. This area was led by Sarah and Darragh Stakelum, with help each time from Jack O’Meara.

John O’Loughlin was on hand every night to take photographs when needed and the team met weekly on zoom and in person on numerous occasions in what was a real group effort to make the fundraising drive such a success.

The club found the power of social media was huge and they gave a special thanks to all the social media accounts who shared and interacted with anything that was needed.