Aberdeen Angus heifer raffle in memory of Moneymore man raises £14,000 for local charities

Organised by the Forsythe family from Moneymore, the raffle’s top prize was a pedigree Aberdeen Angus heifer from their long-established and highly regarded Coltrim Herd.

The November 2021 born in-calf heifer Coltrim Evana X747 was sired by Tofts Evergarth R409, and was bred from Coltrim Evana V213. She made her showring debut at the NI Aberdeen Angus Club’s calf show in Dungannon last year, and also chalked up a number of prizes on the summer show circuit, including the reserve championship at Ballymena Show in June.

The winning tickets were drawn at the 103 rd Clogher Valley Show. Winner of the star prize, Coltrim Evana X747 was Stuart Hawthorne from Kinallen, County Down.

Stuart has recently established the Tullyara Aberdeen Angus herd, and Evana joins two foundation females purchased privately from the Dartrey herd owned by Hylda Mills at Scarva. One of the heifers is a descendant of the Diana cow family which originated from the Forsythe’s Coltrim prefix.

Second prize of £100 was won by James Mallon from Swatragh; while the £50 third prize was won by Paul Millar from Stewartstown. Both winners donated their prizes back to the charity fund.

Keith Forsythe was a much-loved son, brother, father, grandfather and uncle. He lost his long and courageous battle with cancer thirteen months ago.

Ivan Forsythe explained: “We decided to organise the charity raffle in memory of my brother Keith. He passed away three months short of his 50th birthday.

“Keith was very proud of our Aberdeen Angus heritage, and we wanted to do something in his honour, as well as raise much-needed funds for two very worthy charities.”

The Forsythe family have been overwhelmed by support for the charity raffle. “We would like to thank everyone who supported the raffle,” added Ivan Forsythe.

“Special thanks to close family friend Alex Robinson from Dunadry near Templepatrick, who gave freely of his time to sell tickets at numerous agricultural shows and other local events.”

Cheques for £7,000 each have been presented to Air Ambulance Northern Ireland, and Laurel House based at Antrim Area Hospital.

Breige Mulholland, head of operations and finance at Air Ambulance NI, thanked the Forsythe family for its generous donation. “We need £2.5m annually to kept the service operational. As a charity we are fortunate to count on tremendous public support and good will. It’s not only the medical crew who save lives, but the generosity of the people who support our service. Sincere thanks to the Forsythe family and everyone who supported the charity raffle.”

Laurel House delivers chemotherapy and other supportive treatments to cancer patients across the Northern Health Trust. Moyra Mills, Cancer Services Manager said: “This very generous donation will be used to continue to support a range of different initiatives that we have ongoing within Laurel House, as well as purchase specialist equipment or furniture to improve patient comfort.”