“Mum would have loved it” – Birr woman on prize draw for home

A woman living in Birr is set to put her family home in Donegal up for a prize draw, with a portion of the money raised being donated to the Beaumont Hospital Foundation.

Susan Gallagher Ryan and her sisters Johanne, Marcia and Dorothy, are selling tickets for £10 each, with the winner receiving the mortgage-free 1.59 acre property in Bruckless that has both sea and mountain views of Donegal, as well as £50,000 in cash.

The house has been lying idle since 2018 when the women’s parents, Ben and Australian-born Lyndall, sadly passed away within eight weeks of each other.

“Mum died in 2018 from a brain tumour and she was treated in Beaumont,” Susan explains. “Her surgery was on 16 November 2016, and they extended her life by 18 months because of that surgery. It was very complex, she had to be awake for it because if she wasn’t, she would have become mute and wouldn’t have been able to process any information.

“The tumour was in the area of the brain that processes language. We knew that if she didn’t take the surgery she probably would have been gone within twelve weeks. With the surgery, Dr McNally said we would get another year, and we ended up getting another amazing year. She was really well throughout 2017.”

Following the surgery, the family took every opportunity to celebrate occasions and come together whenever possible.

“My sister had a big 40th birthday party, and mum was able to go to that. We knew we were on the clock and made as many memories as we could, and dad was diagnosed with a COPD at the same time. When Dr McNally told us that she was going to die, I told him that dad was going to die at the same time because they were soulmates and that was just going to be the way it would happen.”

Susan’s parents passed away when they were just shy of their 50th wedding anniversary, and the family home has been empty since.

The women tried to sell the house before Susan saw the story of a woman who put her house up for a prize draw in Waterford.

“I rang my sisters and told them about it, because I thought that we could give people a new life.

“£50,000 is included in the prize, and that’s really important to us. A house on its own is a bit of a burden, but with that extra bit you can invest in yourself or the house and change your world. Obviously we want to give something back to Beaumont as well because they gave us that extra year with both of them. He would have gone whenever she did, there is no doubt in my mind about that.”

The property contains a farmhouse with a modern extension and amenities and an adjoining second property that was previously used as a seasonal hostel and camping site.

Susan says that the property was a “beautiful and special place” growing up. Lyndall operated the hostel, while the rest of the family helped out.

“We met thousands of people who came and stayed in the hostel every year, from Australia, South Africa, all over Europe, all over America. They all showed up at our front door, and we were exposed to such diversity.

“They always wrote in the comment book how special the place was. It’s a soulful place, which is difficult to explain, but everyone who came said it. There’s something so peaceful about it. We went up there this past summer and we went swimming 16 times when we were only there 14 days. It’s really magical.

“Dad had a spinal injury so he could only work part time, but the hostel business is a part-time business anyway. It would only really be open from April to September because it got too cold then. I worked in it every summer. We got down and dirty and cleaned the toilets – that’s just what we did!”

Susan believes that her mother would approve of the prize draw, and in some way thinks it was more her idea than anyone else’s.

“Mum always thought outside of the box and she never did the ordinary thing. I feel like the idea to put the house in a prize draw is more like one that she would come up with. She would really love it.”

“We want to pass it on now and hopefully help someone start a new life.”

150,000 tickets are available from raffall.com, with each ticket costing £10, and 5% (£75,000) being donated to the Beaumont Hospital Foundation.