TWO Belfast cancer charities which supported the family of All-Ireland winning Derry manager Eamonn Coleman are to benefit from the proceeds of a book about the legendary GAA figure.
Cancer Lifeline and Friends of the Cancer Centre will receive a donation from sales of The Boys of ’93: Derry’s All Ireland Kings, written by Eamonn’s niece and former journalist and editor Maria McCourt.
The former Derry All Star, who also managed Armagh, Longford and Cavan as well as several clubs, died in 2007 of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Notes from a biography on which he had been working with his niece were published as a memoir in 2018 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Oak Leaf county’s only All-Ireland senior football title.
Proceeds have also been donated to the Irish Cancer Society.
Cancer Lifeline, which provided counselling support and advice to Eamonn’s sister and Maria’s mother, Mary McCourt, following her own cancer diagnosis in early 2018, and Friends of the Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital, where Eamonn was treated, welcomed the donation.
“We have two charity shops which have had to close as a result of Covid-19,” said Cancer Lifeline’s Bryan Irwin.
"The funding could not come at a better time as we continue to support cancer patients and their families, and planning for their future needs.”
Colleen Shaw of Friends of the Cancer Centre also said it was “a wonderful tribute to his memory”.
“Friends of the Cancer Centre relies entirely on the generosity of the local community but as a result of coronavirus, we are facing challenging times ahead. That is why the support of families like the Colemans means so much to us, as it will help us to continue our work and support people when they need it most.
“I would like to thank Eamonn Coleman’s family for their very kind gesture.”
