Kilcullen was generous in 2017

The Twilight Chorus Concert for Pieta House.

Fifteen organisations were the beneficiaries of €131,313 in fundraising results recorded on the Diary in 2017, writes Brian Byrne.

And that represents only a portion of the generosity of Kilcullen people, as we don't have the actual results from many other fundraisers which were held through the year.

Of those we did record, Kilcullen GAA topped the list, gathering in €43,000 from its Lip-Sync Challenge which was extraordinarily successful.

The Irish Cancer Society gained €35,045 from a number of sources, including the Mac & Norman Vintage Drive, the Jimmy Aspell-inspired events in The Spout, and the Kilcullen Relay for Life team.

The €17,322 raised by the phenomenally successful Twilight Chorus concert in conjunction with the Dawn Walk was a big local boost to the work of Pieta House.

Crumlin Children's Hospital gained €12,670 from the annual Murphy Surveys Cycle event, while the Friends of St Brigid's Hospice received €8,230 from a number of sources which included Kilcullen Lions, Kilcullen Livestock Mart and a Poker Classic in Markeys Mill Bar.

The annual Daffodil Day collection for cancer care support raised €5,314, and we recorded €2,342 collected for St Vincent de Paul by the raffle of a painting from Ray Ryan and other sources.

Other beneficiaries of Kilcullen support included St Joseph's NS in Halverstown from a Fun Run (€2,293), World Vision from a Garden Party organised by Olive Dunlop (€2,000), production of Damien Aulsberry's 'Sons & Broken Noses' film in a Spout gig (€1,342), a contribution to the expenses of the upcoming Sarah Swaine Memorial Race from the Kilcullen Community Childcare children (€515), Kilcullen Scouts donation from Eurospar (€500), Temple Street Children's Hospital from pupils at Halverstown NS (€400), a €204 collection for the Holles Street NMH Foundation from a coffee morning in Woodbine Books, and €136 for the Manchester bomb victims from a pupil in St Joseph's NS.

Many other functions, collections and events during 2017 were supported by Kilcullen residents in aid of a variety of causes, including Kilcullen Community Action's 'Kilcullen in Bloom' and Christmas Lights programmes, the Teach na nDaoine project for which the Dance Lessons and the Auction were just two of a number of fundraisers, as is tonight's Black Tie Gala. Various Kilcullen Lions endeavours, and several Table Quizzes for various needs were also recipients of local generosity.

It's a good note on which to end the year.