Grateful couple hold barn dance to raise vital funds for Ulster Hospital

The couple who hail from Donegal, have suffered some very serious health setbacks over the past few years and both have required extensive treatments from hospital staff.

Mr Byrne sustained serious leg injuries in an accident on their farm, when a digger bucket fell on his legs back in 2021. He was transferred to the Ulster Hospital after receiving initial treatment closer to home and spent 15 weeks on the Orthopaedic ward to recover from major surgery.

This came as a huge blow to the family, as just one year previous to this, Mrs Byrne was critically ill with COVID-19 and had to be rushed to the ICU in Sligo Hospital, where she was placed on a ventilator to help her breathe while she fought the virus.

They live in a very supportive countryside community and thought it would be fitting to hold a Barn Dance to raise some money. Family, friends and neighbours helped organise the event and local businesses donated prizes for the raffle. The 500 tickets that Mrs Byrne had printed completely sold out.

The event was great craic, with lots of singing, dancing and laughter filling the hall. Everyone was very generous in their donations, raising an incredible £8506.56, which the couple have divided between the two teams that cared so well for them in their time of need.

The Byrne family recently returned to the Ulster Hospital to donate an amazing £4253.28 to the Orthopaedic Department, which will be used to fund specialist training in Plastics and Orthopaedics for Nursing staff.

Mr and Mrs Byrne said: “We really appreciate everything that Mr Ogonda and the Nursing team have done for us; it’s a long road to recovery but we’re getting there. We hope this money can be used to benefit others who need the care of this wonderful team.”

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Mr Ogonda said: “I would like to express how grateful the team are for this very kind donation. This incredible amount of money will be put towards specialist training in Plastics and Orthopaedics for our Nursing staff, to further their development opportunities and improve services for our patients.”