Two Athlone-area charities share €20,000 raised from Friary furniture sale

Two local charities received a welcome funding boost in the lead-up to Christmas when the Franciscan order presented each with a cheque for €10,000 last week.

The money, which was donated to the Athlone branches of the Samaritans and the Society of St Vincent De Paul, had been raised earlier this year by the sale of furniture and books from the former Franciscan friary residences in Athlone and Clonmel.

"We are delighted that this money is going back into the community in Athlone, because the people of Athlone supported us over the years and we couldn't have been there without them," said Br Stephen O'Kane, ofm.

"This is a small gesture of gratitude for that support over the years."

He explained that cheques for €10,000 were also presented by the order to two charities in Clonmel last week, bringing the total amount raised for charity from the sale of the Franciscans' items in the two towns to €40,000.

In October 2022, it was announced that the Franciscans would be leaving Athlone, and the Friars then moved out last January.

"We promised in January that any money raised from the sale of furniture in the Friary would go to local charities. So that's what we did," said Br Stephen.

"The outgoing community in Athlone - in other words the Friars who knew the area well - chose the two charities, the Samaritans and St Vincent De Paul.

"As well as that, St Vincent De Paul were invited in to take any furniture that they could find saleable, and that wasn't wanted by the auctioneer. We heard from St Vincent de Paul that that those items sold very quickly because people were actually interested in buying a memento from the Friary."

Br Stephen, who is based in Dublin and oversees property matters for the Franciscan order, said some items from the former Friary residence in Athlone were also left behind for use by the Ukrainian refugees who are now living there.

Madeline Mullins of St Vincent De Paul in Athlone said the charity was "delighted" to receive the €10,000 donation from the Franciscans, and that it would be put to good use locally.

"It is very welcome, but we're so sad that the friars are no longer living in Athlone," she said.

The Athlone branch of the Society of St Vincent De Paul has a coverage area which extends to areas such as Monksland and Lecarrow on the Roscommon side, and as far as Tubberclair, Moate and Kilbeggan on the Westmeath side.

"This is a very, very busy time for us. Today, we were out all morning with visits to check in with people and see what their needs are coming up to Christmas. Those needs are primarily heat, food and toys," said Madeline on Monday.

She said the level of requests for assistance from the public so far this Christmas season was similar to other years, and pointed out that the charity's work continues year-round.

There are approximately 45 to 50 volunteers helping out with St Vincent De Paul in the Athlone area.

"All of the volunteers are in our later years, so we would be very happy to receive some new volunteers for any area in Athlone," she said

St Vincent De Paul operates a freephone number for requests for help, on 1800 677 777, and this number can also be used by anyone who may be interested in volunteering.

Deirdre Collins of the Athlone and Midlands Samaritans branch said it was very grateful to Fr Gabriel Kinahan and the Franciscan community for nominating the branch as one of the beneficiaries of the sale of the contents of their Friary house.

"The €10,000 is greatly appreciated and will be of great assistance to the branch in meeting its running costs," said Deirdre. The Samaritans operates a 24-hour freephone helpline on 116123.