Fisherstown Tractor Run

The staff of St John’s Ward were delighted to receive a visit from four friends from Co Laois who brought them a gift of €8,175. From Fisherstown, Peter and Tommy Corcoran, David O’Connell and Willie Walsh came to St. James’s to present the proceeds of their fifth annual Fisherstown Tractor Run; the donation represented entry fees for 123 tractors and sponsorship raised that will be used for the benefit of head and neck cancer patients. The 20 mile tractor tour, which started and finished at The Fisherman’s Thatch Inn in Fisherstown, took place in the glorious sunshine of Sunday, July 7th.

The fundraisers were very pleased to visit the ward where nurse manager, Sinead Moran, plans to use the money to buy specialist electric controlled beds and a specialist light source scope for examining patients. Willie Walsh said: “Everyone in our area seems to be touched by cancer – we are just glad to help the patients with this annual event – and really glad to know that the money will be used well.” Sinead Moran said staff were overwhelmed by the gift and, thanking the fundraisers on behalf of the staff, she said: “Your gift will make the most incredible difference for our patients; the beds will increase patients’ comfort and will give them independence, and the light source will help us to know when to help patients early if something is going wrong.”

St. James’s Hospital caters to patients with all forms of cancer and is the largest single provider of cancer treatment in Ireland and the largest national centre for radiotherapy service. A major new government funded Cancer Care Centre and Radiation Oncology Centre is now open on the site and the facility for PET imaging for advanced patient diagnosis is the only such facility within a public hospital in the country. Head and neck cancer patients are attended on St. John’s ward; it is a 31-bedded ward whose ethos is to provide holistic patient care, with strong multi disciplinary teamwork.