Northern Ireland

Donations of old jewellery raises £2,000 in memory of west Belfast woman Eimear Gooderham

Sean Smyth with his daughter Eimear, who died in June 2019
Sean Smyth with his daughter Eimear, who died in June 2019 Sean Smyth with his daughter Eimear, who died in June 2019

DONATIONS of old jewellery gathering dust in drawers has raised £2,000 in memory of a west Belfast woman who died from blood cancer, aged just 25.

Rings, necklaces and bracelets were among the items handed in to a Belfast jewellers following an appeal from the father of Eimear Gooderham (née Smyth).

In 2019, Sean Smyth sought donations of gold jewellery in a bid to raise money for four charities, which included Eimear's Wish that was set up following his daughter's death.

Mr Smyth had teamed up with Murray and Co Jewellers in Belfast, which had agreed to pay the top market rate for donated broken gold.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic leading to a pause in donations to the 'gold rush appeal', Mr Smyth said he was delighted to accept the money from the jewellers on Saturday, which he said would "go a long way to helping others just like Eimear".

Eimear died in June 2019, just a week after marrying her fiancé Philip in hospital.

The make-up artist from the Coolnasilla area had been diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in September 2016 shortly after she had graduated.

Eimear and her father launched a campaign to help raise awareness of the stem cell register, which allows donors of the correct tissue types to be matched with patients.

After a lengthy search for a suitable stem cell donor, she received a transplant in November 2018, but sadly died in June 2019 following complications.

The 'Eimear’s Wish' campaign was established in 2019 following her death.

Mr Smyth said: "When the gold rush appeal first started, it went really well, people were very generous.

"There were so many nice pieces donated, there was a lovely woman who had lost her husband to suicide around 20 years ago who donated a necklace he had given her and there were people who gave in pieces of jewellery their grandparents had left them, but they didn't wear and they wanted it to go to a good cause.

"There were old signet rings that people had to have cut off that had no value any more, but could be used by us.

"But then Covid hit and that cut the donations, but Ciaran at Murray and Co has been so good and in the end we raised just under £2,000.

"They have kindly done this free of charge and all the revenue raised from the scrap gold is now going to the Friends of Cancer Centre Belfast, Action Cancer, Anthony Nolan and Eimear's Wish - all will get £500 each."

Mr Smyth said the money for Eimear's Wish would be used to continue their campaign to encourage people to sign the stem cell donor register.

"We hope to speak to chemists in Northern Ireland so they can hopefully join with us and display posters in their shops to encourage people to become donors," he said.

"We want to keep boosting the stem cell donor register.

"If I can stop one parent going through what I have went through after Eimear was diagnosed, it will be worth all the work we have done and by doing this we are still keeping Eimear's memory alive."