Memorial fundraiser reaches €5k target in six days

Photo: The late Jordan Murphy.

A fundraising drive set up in memory of a young Tullamore man who lost his life in a traffic accident two years ago in Athlone has realised its €5,000 target in just six days.

19-year old Jordan Murphy was on his way to classes in Athlone Institute of Technology on September 11, 2018, where he was a second year business student, when he died as a result of an accident on the Dublin road.

On Thursday of last week, August 27, the exceptionally popular student should have celebrated his 21st birthday, so his stepmother, Caroleen Creevy Murphy, set up an online Memorial Fundraiser with all proceeds going to Accessible Counselling service in Tullamore.

Caroleen, who is the proprietor of Ritzy’s Hair Salon in the town, told the Offaly Independent this week that she had initially set a fundraising target of €2,000, but that was exceeded “within a few hours” so she decided to raise the target to €5,000, which was realised in six days.

“We are overwhelmed with the support, and are so grateful to everyone who took the time and made the effort to donate,” says Caroleen.

With one very generous donation of €1,000 from St. Colmcille Pipe Band in Tullamore, which the late Jordan Murphy was a valued member of, and another anonymous donation of €500, it did not take the fundraising drive long to exceed its initial target.

“This is the second Memorial Fundraiser in memory of Jordan, the first one last year was organised by Athlone IT to raise funds for the college, so we decided to make it an annual event,” says Caroleen Creevy Murphy.

She chose Accessible Counselling in Tullamore as the beneficiary of the fundraising drive as it is the town’s newest counselling service which aims to prove accessible and effective counselling and psychotherapy services to those in the local community with mental health issues

Accessible Counselling is located at Unit 4 Millennium House on Main Street in Tullamore and first opened its doors to the public on January 20 last.

Jordan Murphy’s stepmother says the Memorial Fundraiser will run until September 27, and she has urged members of the public to continue to donate. “The more funds we can raise for Accessible Counselling the better” she says “it is a great service and one which is badly needed, especially in the current climate.”

A number of attractive prizes are on offer for those who donate to the Jordan Murphy Memorial Fundraiser, which is being jointly sponsored by Ritzys Hairdressing, Park Avenue 23 and Galvin For Men.

The late Jordan Murphy was conferred posthumously with a Higher Certificate in Business at the annual Conferring Ceremonies in Athlone IT in October of last year.

He was described by AIT President, Professor Ciarán O’ Catháin as a “wonderful, dedicated and personable student who was very much loved and respected by his fellow classmates, our academic faculty and the wider AIT community, all of whom are devastated at his loss.

Anyone wishing to donate to the Jordan Murphy Memorial Fundraiser can do so by accessing the following link on iDonate: https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11390037_jordan-murphy-memorial-fundraiser.html