Top class sports memorabalia under the hammer for kids charity

Items including signed Ulster rugby and Antrim hurling shirts and a football bearing the signatures of the Liverpool squad are among the much-sought after goods going under the hammer for the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.

Ballymoney man Mickey Connor - local chair of the charity - is organising the event which will take place in the town’s Manor Hotel on Saturday 3 September.

He told the Times he has been delighted with the response of many of sport’s top stars to the fundraiser.

“It has been excellent,” he said.

“I sent out a number of letters asking for people to support the night and the response already has been very good.

“We would welcome anyone who has any memorabilia they can donate for the auction which is for an excellent cause and we hope to have a good crowd along on the night.”

Other items donated so far include a signed shirt from US Open champion Graeme McDowell, a signed Coleraine FC shirt, signed Kyle Lafferty photo, Rangers FC memorabilia including a Rangers training jacket donated by Steven Davis, a Fulham shirt signed by the squad and a round of golf at Gracehill Golf Club.

Mickey has been at the helm of the Ballymoney branch of the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children for nine years alongside Anne McConville and in that time approximately £20,000 has been raised.

The Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children is a registered charity, which offers practical, emotional and financial support to children and young people up to and including the age of 24, who are living with cancer, and their families.

Three children are diagnosed with cancer every week in Northern Ireland, leaving three more families to cope with a level of devastation that is almost impossible for most of us to comprehend.

Based at Curlew Pavilion within Belfast Harbour Estate, and with a satellite office in the North West, they are able to extend their services to every part of Northern Ireland.

These services include the lively and supportive Youth Programme and Family Support Programme; residential facilities such as Shimna Valley Village, Narnia and Pine Cottage; and direct financial assistance via their ‘Road Miles’ and ‘Home Heating’ schemes.

[email protected]