Light Up A Life Remembrance Event
- Nov 28,2018
26 Years and Counting at Light Up A Life Remembrance Event at Our Lady's Hospice & Care Services, Harold's Cross
On Sunday 2nd December Our Lady's Hospice & Care Services in Harold's Cross will host its 26th annual Light Up A Life event.
Last year, around 15,000 people attended this annual remembrance celebration in Harold's Cross, which marks the start of Christmas for many families.
This moving event, where people gather to commemorate the lives of their loved ones, as they begin to celebrate the festive season.
This year, the event celebrates its 26th anniversary and its guest of honour is the Dublin GAA Manager Jim Gavin who will turn the lights on one of Dublin’s largest Christmas trees and visit patients.
In keeping with the sports theme and celebrating a very successful year for Dublin GAA, he will be accompanied by the Sam Maguire Cup and players from both the ladies and gents Gaelic football teams players, including Sinead Aherne, Emma McDonagh, Olwen Carey, Noelle Healy, Sinead Goldrick, Lucy Collins, Kevin McManamon, Ciaran Kilkenny and John Small! Along with RTE sports journalists Joanne Cantwell and Marty Morrissey.
This popular family event features a range of musical treats including the Palestrina Boys Choir, St Jude’s Folk Group, The Line-Up Choir, the CIE Male Voice Choir and soloist Geraldine McNamara.
There are Christmas gifts, cards and plants for sale and hot refreshments to keep people warm!
Light Up A Life is the most important fundraiser for Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services, during 2017 it raised almost €450,000 to help the organisation deliver the loving care for which it is best known.
Over 35,000 were remembered through lights sponsored in their names last year.
Lights can be sponsored on lightupalife.ie, some choose to share photos and tributes in memory of their loved ones or on site in either Harold’s Cross or Blackrock Hospices.
This site also features a shop with Christmas decorations, cards, a calendar (featuring patients’ art), a cookbook, a book on bereavement and more.
Celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2019, Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services takes a holistic approach to patient care, focussing on the person and not the condition.
Each year, its 600 staff, 330 volunteers and one therapy dog take care of over 4,000 people. Staff make more than 10,000 specialist palliative care visits to people’s homes across south Dublin and north Wicklow.
Ms. Audrey Houlihan, Chief Executive Officer explains that, “Since 2009, the Hospice has been balancing a reduction in state funding with a considerable increase in demand for our services, such as a 20% increase in our palliative care admissions numbers since 2010.
€4m is required annually to make up the shortfall in state funding. “To bridge this funding gap and to keep its services and standards of care at their best, we very much depend on the ongoing support of the local community through fundraising events such as Light Up A Life.
“In 2018, the Hospice redeveloped its 36 single-bed specialist palliative care unit at a cost of €15m, with 100% of the building costs raised through fundraising. But, it still needs support to expand its community-based services to meet the needs of an ageing population with complex care needs,” she said.
Event details; Light Up A Life, 26th Anniversary Celebrations
Date:Sunday 2nd December Time 15.45 – 18.00
Venue; Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services
FREE family-friendly event, no tickets required
Musical entertainment & festive fun!
There will be Christmas gifts, cards & plants for sale. We will have soup & hot apple punch to keep you warm and mince pies as a tasty treat!
Ian Dempsey, will lead the celebrations on the day and our guest of honour, Jim Gavin, will light the tree and address the crowd.
Acts include the Palestrina Boys Choir, St Jude’s Folk Group, The Line-Up Choir, the CIE Male Voice Choir and soloist Geraldine McNamara
Note: There is no parking available onsite - so allow time to travel to the event. Buses: 9, 16, 16C, 49, 54A stop at the gate.
Wrap up warm!
www.lightupalife.ie #LightUpALife