Oliver Nolan
Staff writer
And so we’ve reached the end of a banner year. I don’t think its hyperbolic of me to say this simply must be the most successful year for Movember Ireland yet. With mo’s a common sighting around town, this year marked the first year where whatever your feelings on facial hair based charities, it was inescapable.
Last week, I shamelessly fleeced my classmates, addressing/ambushing them as lectures wound down with the hope of raising a bit of money. However, what with this being my fourth year and mine being an arts degree, I only actually had two opportunities to do this. I’m not sure what was worse, making less money or realising my course is a joke. Honestly though, it’s the best way to go about it if you’re serious about raising money, and while its no fortune, I’m pretty satisfied with what I’ve raised. BUT if you’d like to donate, (you only have today) go to http://mobro.co/olivernolan
If I have a minor quibble, its the lack of camraderie between the mo’ bros. Maybe it’s just an Irish thing, but it really brings out feelings of anxiety when you find yourself queueing for a sambo and find yourself stuck behind a fellow mo’ bro, as happened to me just the other day. The lovely deli woman had to go get more sweetcorn or something and so there was a lull in service. There we were, just the two of us left in silence, big dirty handlebars hanging from our faces. Surely we both knew there was some kind of horse-shoe shaped elephant in the room and yet neither of us had any intention of addressing it, both suddenly finding great interest in the set-sandwich menu up on the wall. I suppose it might be unreasonable to expect a high-five or at even some kind inane chit-chat. The best you’re getting is that weird rise of the eyebrows that you normally reserve for people you don’t particularly like but you’d prefer they thought otherwise. Oh well. By contrast, passers-by have no qualms about pointing out the obvious, and while it was fun at first – Wahey nice tache!, Yeah woo Movember alright! – it gets a bit repetitive. But at the same time, this is the kind of thing Movember thrives on: if you can get people talking, even if it is just in jovial shouts, it will ultimately lead to people thinking, and that’s where the charity really gets to work.
For my final interview, I was lucky enough this week to get in touch with Judith Sibley, whose daughter Lily-Mae was diagnosed in June this year with stage four Neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that affects one in 100,000 children in Ireland. The Sunni-Mae Trust was set up in July this year by Judith’s brother Paul to raise funds to help fund Lily-Mae’s treatment, and has since branched out to raise funds for treatment and research. The Trust has so far raised over €100,000 with half a million their new goal. A charity cover of Elton John’s Tiny Dancer was released last week by a collective of artists featuring Declan O’ Rourke and Paddy Casey and is expected to hit the Irish number one spot today, with the hope of staying there over the Christmas period.
- Did you expect such a huge response to the single? Elton John has voiced his support.
– I knew we’d created something amazing, but never let myself believe it could go so far. To have Elton himself on board is amazing. I’m humbled and honoured by the enormous support we’ve received. Sift through Tiny Dancer A Song For Lily-Mae on Facebook and you’ll find out all the coverage.
- What advice would you have for any parent who found themselves in in a situation similar to yours?
– It’s all still very raw, and we’ve another 28 months of treatment ahead. I would say, trust your team are doing the very best for your child, but find out as much information as you can about Neuroblastoma. The more knowledge you have, the better you can approach your oncology team with informed questions. There are many support groups in th UK, particularly the Neuroblastoma alliance, who have been an incredible support to me. Through Facebook, I’ve become friends with many parents who children have had Neuroblastoma. Some children lived and some have not, but their knowledge, experience, empathy and kindness has been phenomenal.
I’d like to thank Judith for taking the time to answer our questions given that this week Lily Mae underwent surgery to have a major tumour removed. Best wished to the girl and her family as they face into the next few months of treatment.
For more information and to donate to the Sunni Mae trust, go to http://www.thesunnimaetrust.ie/
The single ‘Tiny Dancer’ by A Song For Lily-Mae is available on iTunes to download now.
