Volunteer Dermot’s fundraising for Cancer Research earns national praise

A volunteer fundraiser from Northern Ireland has received a national award from Cancer Research UK in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the cause.
Dermot BreenDermot Breen
Dermot Breen

The charity’s annual Flame of Hope Awards acknowledge remarkable efforts in fundraising and volunteering made by people from all walks of life.

Dermot Breen (60) who now lives in Portrush, scooped the Fundraising Volunteer of the Year accolade, beating off stiff competition from across the UK.

He was congratulated at a special online presentation last week. This was in place of a ceremony in London hosted by Cancer Research UK’s chairman, Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, which had to be cancelled to protect the country’s health during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The pandemic has caused a devastating loss of funding for cancer research. Following the cancellation of fundraising events like Race for Life, Cancer Research UK is expecting a staggering £160 million drop in income in the year ahead.

But Dermot has shown exceptional dedication to Cancer Research UK by raising £50,000 in an effort to help beat the disease that stole the love of his life.

Following the tragic death of his beloved wife, Jacqui, a teacher at Greenisland Primary School, who passed away from ovarian cancer in January 2015 at the age of 54, Dermot undertook a gruelling 38 day pilgrimage on foot around the 625 mile long Ulster Way.

He took inspiration from a book he had given Jacqui before her death.

“The idea for my Ulster Way walk was actually inspired by the book The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce, which Jacqui and I both loved,” Dermot explained.

“In the book, the main character sets off unexpectedly one morning to walk a distance of 1,000km to visit an old work colleague who is terminally ill with cancer.

“Before Jacqui passed away, I told her that I would walk even further than Harold Fry if I thought it could save her. I was never a great walker, and so she really appreciated the sentiment behind my words.

“Unfortunately, there was no saving Jacqui, and although heartbroken, I decided to honour her memory and to do something to help save others by walking further than Harold Fry.

“I wanted to do something special in memory of the extraordinary woman I had been with for 35 years” Dermot said, “but I also wanted to raise funds for the incredibly important work being undertaken by Cancer Research UK, a vital charity that relies entirely on donations from the public.”

Dermot kept a journal of his adventures and feelings during the walk and his next challenge was to turn the journal into a book.

‘The Edge’ was the culmination of that desire and it received many five star reviews on Amazon.

Since then Dermot has gone on to complete further long distance walks – the Camino de Santiago in Spain, sections of the Great Wall of China and the Ireland Way, which runs the length of Ireland from South-West Cork to North-East Antrim. He has also published two further books (‘The Man with the Camino Tattoo’ and ‘Exiles’) based on his walking adventures and a book of poetry (‘Girl with the Dove’) charting his long struggle to overcome grief.

Dermot, who donates all revenue from his book sales to Cancer Research UK, was recently a finalist in Pride of Britain Fundraiser of the Year in Northern Ireland.

Speaking of his award, a modest Dermot said: “I am delighted to have won the Fundraising Volunteer of the Year Award and I would like to thank Danielle Sheridan of the NI Branch of Cancer Research UK for nominating me. Although no one gets involved in fundraising for personal accolades, it is nevertheless very satisfying to get some recognition for the work we all do.

“The £50,000 I have helped raise since I lost Jacqui in 2015 is of course a marvellous personal tribute to my late wife, but it is also a great credit to the generosity of people who have supported me over the last five years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them for their kindness and support and I dedicate this award to them all. I couldn’t save Jacqui, but it does give me great comfort to know that in some small way I have helped with cancer research that will help others facing a cancer diagnosis in the future.”

Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “The Flame of Hope awards give us the opportunity to celebrate and say thank you to our enormously generous volunteers and supporters for their fantastic work.

“Covid-19 has slowed us down but we will never stop. We are determined to continue our research to create better treatments for tomorrow. Cancer Research UK has continued to work through world wars, recession and other periods of major disruption. We remain as focussed as ever on beating cancer and I want to thank everyone who has supported us through this time.

“Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work in to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives but that’s only possible thanks to the commitment of our supporters and volunteers, without whom it would not be possible to fund outstanding scientists, doctors and nurses.”

Dermot was among a total of 61 individuals and groups from all across the UK recognised by the Flame of Hope awards.

Jean Walsh, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Northern Ireland said: “Every step we make towards beating cancer relies on every pound, every hour and every person.

“These awards are our way of honouring incredible people like Dermot who give their time freely to raise money for research and promote greater awareness of the disease, and yet ask for nothing in return.

“It’s thanks to the support of the fundraising public and our amazing army of volunteers that we can continue to make a real difference and bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.”

For more information about Cancer Research UK visit cruk.org.