Livestock auction in Saintfield raises a fantastic £18,215 for Action Cancer

The evening proved to be another runaway success raising an amazing £18,215 for the charity, which will help fund its cancer support services including its skin cancer detection service.

Treasurer of the Group and member of the farming community, Valerie Heron, said: “We are absolutely overwhelmed to have raised this amount of money for Action Cancer and its life-saving services.

"The auction in 2023 raised over £15,000 so to have surpassed this figure by so much is just remarkable.

"As always, we couldn’t do this without the support of auctioneer Geoffrey Murphy and all the staff at Saintfield Livestock Mart, everyone who made donations, and bid on the animals.

"We could never have anticipated raising such a significant amount of money and are truly grateful to all involved.”

The money raised from the livestock auction will enable Action Cancer to provide 151 appointments for early detection of skin cancer.

Dee Heron has been a volunteer with Action Cancer for 30 years. He organised the auction along with his wife Valerie, son Gavin, grandson Harry, aged 13, and brother in law William Strain.

He said: “I am delighted that the money raised will go towards Action Cancer’s skin cancer detection service.

"I know first-hand how important a service like this is to the farming community.

"I have worked outdoors all my life and when I was a young lad making hay at 10 years old, it was shirts off running around the field thinking it was great. We didn’t have any sun cream on, there was no protection.

“I was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2008 after a mole on my spine looked suspicious.

"Thankfully it was caught early and I’m now cancer free.

"I would encourage anyone who works outdoors to ensure they protect themselves in the sun, keep covered up and wear sun cream.

"If you have any moles, keep a close eye on them and if there are any noticeable changes, contact Action Cancer.”

Action Cancer has been at the heart of cancer prevention, detection and support for people in Northern Ireland for the last 50 years.

The services that Action Cancer provide are free to the user but come at a cost to the charity of £4 million every year.

Action Cancer Community Fundraising Executive, Mark Irwin-Watson said: “The Moneyreagh & District Group was formed in 1978, three years after Action Cancer was established, and has been raising money for the charity ever since.

"The volunteers dedicate a tremendous amount of time and effort fundraising for the charity and have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds over the years.

"We are beyond grateful to Dee and Valerie Heron and everyone involved in this hugely successful fundraising event.

"Action Cancer receives no regular government funding so support like this is vital to our work and ensures we can deliver our range of cancer prevention, detection and support services.”

If you would like to get involved with volunteer fundraising contact Mark Irwin-Watson on 028 9080 3371 or email [email protected].