Life

Coffee and glamour for the Northern Ireland Hospice

Model agency boss Alison Clarke talks to Jenny Lee about golf, glamour and taking a coffee break to help raise funds for the Northern Ireland Hospice

Alison Clarke helping spill the beans on the Big Coffee Break for Northern Ireland Hospice on Thursday October 1
Alison Clarke helping spill the beans on the Big Coffee Break for Northern Ireland Hospice on Thursday October 1 Alison Clarke helping spill the beans on the Big Coffee Break for Northern Ireland Hospice on Thursday October 1

NORTHERN Ireland entrepreneur and golfing wife Alison Clarke is encouraging everyone to take a coffee break next month in order to help people get the end of life care they deserve.

The model agency boss, and wife of golfer Darren Clarke, is an ambassador for the Northern Ireland Hospice. She recently enjoyed a girly get-together with a number of former Miss Northern Ireland models, along with the reigning Miss Northern Ireland Leanne McDowell, to raise the curtain on the Northern Ireland Hospice Big Coffee Break, which aims to upstage last year’s £70,000 fund-raising effort.

The former Miss Northern Ireland and Miss UK runner-up, who gave up her early career in banking to take over running the Miss Northern Ireland competition and set up her own model and promotions agency, this year celebrated a quarter of a century in the business.

She says her company, ACA Models, has never been as busy, with many of her models used as extras in films and television shows including Game of Thrones.

"The popularity of the screen industry here has had a knock-on effect and my models are in much demand and have been used in all the shows filmed here," says Alison.

Despite being busy preparing for the forthcoming autumn/winter fashion season, Alison and her Miss Northern Ireland colleagues always take time to support the valuable work of the Northern Ireland Hospice – they will be hosting their own Big Coffee Break at the ACA models offices in Belfast's Beersbridge Road at 11am on October 1.

"I've visited the old hospice, the children's hospice and the new building site and it really gives you a wake-up call and puts life in perspective. They offer a wonderful facility for patients and their families during those final months, weeks and days. There is no more worthy charity than the hospice and we urge people to organise a little coffee morning and give what they can."

Supported by Bailies Coffee, Northern Ireland Hospice is encouraging organisations and supporters to host a Big Coffee Break on October 1, or a suitable date up to December 31, with a suggested donation of £2 per cup of coffee served.

Money raised from the event will support the charity's community nursing services who care for 3,000 adults with life-limiting illnesses and their families each year as well as go towards fitting-out the new state-of-the art adult hospice in north Belfast, which is scheduled for completion later this year.

This time next year Alison will be preparing to jet off to Minnesota to lead the team of European wives and girlfriends who will form the support team for Europe's golfers in the 31st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Course.

She and Darren married in 2012 after they were introduced by fellow Northern Ireland golf star Graeme McDowell. So far she hasn't been able to convince her step-sons Conor (14) and Tyrone (16) to swap the fairway for the runway, however: the boys are showing signs of following in their father's footsteps, Tyrone already having a golf handicap of three.

“They are more interested in watching the girls model and the after-show parties,” laughs Alison, who describes her style as "somewhere between glamorous and casual".

When Darren won the 2011 Open Championship, his home golf club Dungannon gave Alison a life-long honorary membership, though she admits she hasn’t teed up since. While she used to play "a little” golf , Alison says she is too busy to swap high heels for spiky shoes.

"I simply don't have four hours to spare to spend on a golf course," she says.

:: To take part in the Big Coffee Break in aid of Northern Ireland Hospice, register at nihospice.org or call the fundraising team on 028 9077 7123.