Laois school in heritage village scoops €7,000 from new vintage run

The small Laois school in Ireland's Ancient East village Timahoe has got a tidy €7,000 gift to buy computer equipment.

Recently formed Timahoe Vintage and Heritage Club got off to a flying start this year following the success of their first Truck and Tractor Run that was held in May.

There was great satisfaction among the members of the club last week as they handed over a very generous donation of €7,000 to the local primary school, Scoil Mhuire Fatima.

The donation will be used to purchase IT equipment in the school and principal, Michael Mc Evoy was delighted with the contribution.

“We are absolutely thrilled to receive such a significant donation and are very thankful to the committee for fundraising on our behalf. We have all seen first-hand, the huge amount of work that the committee have put in and it is another example of the wonderful community spirit that exists in Timahoe. We are very thankful to everyone that helped out and supported the event in any way”.

“Many of the club officers and members are parents of ours including Darragh & Helen Headen, Pat Buggy & Ciara Ramsbottom, Sharon Boyd, Damien Bowe, Aisling, Roghan and Liam Headen and we are very grateful for their time and commitment to the school,” he said.

Chairperson of the club, Darragh Headen, was also delighted with the outcome of the event.

“We are very happy to have made a contribution to our local primary school. We are a newly formed club and it is great to have completed a successful Truck and Tractor Run. We hope there will be many more to come," he said.

He is also keen to acknowledge the fantastic support they received from the community.

“Everyone in the community rowed in behind us and we are very thankful to the school staff, parents and others community members. To all sponsors who kindly supported the event including main sponsors Pat Buggy, Kerwin Limestone and JL Bradshaws, to Fr Vard for the use of the church car park and to the GAA Club for the use of their grounds.

"We would also like to thank Garda Brian Kelly for the Garda presence on the day, Billy Carter, Joe Casey and Charlie Kerwin for bringing the Stradbally steam engines free of charge, and of course to Jecca the clown who kept the children entertained. We are also very thankful to the local vintage clubs and everyone else that came to take part in the run,” Darragh said.