A SIGNED limited-edition Christmas card published privately for Seamus Heaney will be among items going under the hammer in Co Tyrone to raise money for two Northern Ireland charities.
The auction, which will take place during a Masquerade May Ball on Saturday May 3 in the Glenavon House Hotel, Cookstown, is in aid of the Mid Ulster Dementia Support Group and Cancer Focus Northern Ireland. The card was privately printed by Faber & Faber for the late Nobel laureate.
Organisers Jacqueline McGonigle and Emma McCann, who both have personal connections to the charities, are hoping to raise £10,000 from the event that will include sale of the Heaney card. "We chose these charities as both of us have lost a parent to cancer," Ms McGonigle said. "My mother was also diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2008 and the Mid Ulster Dementia Support Group was extremely supportive when I just needed someone to talk to and let me know that I wasn't on my own, as well as offering practical advice about caring for someone with dementia."
* For tickets contact Jacqueline on 0783 3488 553 or Emma on 0773 1375 022.