A charity auction, entitled A day for the Pats, has raised €83,000 for its two chosen causes.
Organisers will split donations between Tuam Cancer Care and Cope Galway.
The auction took place at Tuam Mart on Monday, December 6th, 2021, in memory of the late Pat Devane and the late Pat Dermody.
Ahead of the event, Marion Devane, manager of Tuam Co-operative Livestock Mart, told That’s Farming editor, Catherina Cunnane, that both were “keystone” figures in the mart for more than 40 years.
Pat Devane passed away after a short illness on May 28th, 2020, and Pat Dermody was killed in a farm accident on June 7th, 2020.
A day for the Pats auction
The charity auction day was the brainchild of Devane. According to a spokesperson “without her leadership over the past month, the auction wouldn’t have been the success that it turned out to be”.
In a statement following the charity auction, which saw just under 150 lots go under the hammer, a spokesperson for Tuam Mart thanked all those who contributed, donated, bid, and purchased lots.
“We are truly humbled by the response. A huge thank you to everyone. Monday was such an incredible success, and we like to thank everyone that made it happen.”
“A special word of thanks to the Devane and Dermody families for their support and input. All our own staff and committee put in a huge amount of work. Thank you to each and every person, you know who you are.”
“I don’t want to name anyone. However, I have to acknowledge the work our manager put into the project along with all our office staff.”
“A massive thank you to our auctioneer, Pat Burke, for all the work he put in behind the scenes and on the day. Also, a big thanks to our other in house auctioneer, Peter McDonagh, for a top-class job as always.”
“A big thank you to Martin Mannion & Niall Fleming, yard foreman for looking after everything on the ground and a big thank you to all yard staff for their help and support.”
“Finally, thanks to Brendan and his team in Tuam Mart Store for their help along the way. Again, a massive thank you to every single person who made Monday happen,” the spokesperson concluded.
