Coin commemorating 40th anniversary of fire station raises €1,700 for HOPE
Derek Riordan presents a cheque to Mary McLoughlin from HOPE with the proceeds from the Challenge Coin Fundraiser. Also at the presentation were Gerry Bolger, Station Officer Darren O'Connell, Rina Turbett, James Hayden, Margaret Doyle, Anna Purcell (all HOPE) and Station Officer Paul Doyle Photos by Paddy Barrett

Coin commemorating 40th anniversary of fire station raises €1,700 for HOPE

A CHALLENGE coin designed by a Tallaght firefighter commemorating the 40th anniversary of the opening of Tallaght Fire Station has raised over €1,700 for a local suicide prevention charity.

Tallaght firefighter Derek Riordan, who was previously based in Nutgrove Fire Station, designed the coin depicting Tallaght Fire Station to raise funds for HOPE (Hold On Pain Eases).

Derek started designing challenge coins as a hobby back in 2019, and has gone on to produce many coins for collectors and charity fundraisers.

He produced a limited run of 300 commemorative coins depicting Tallaght Fire Station, which were sold out after being bought by people locally and all over the world, raising €1,731.69 for HOPE in the process.

Derek told The Echo: “To me, the 40th anniversary of the opening of Tallaght Fire Station is a big occasion and I wanted to design and produce a coin for it, and for the proceeds from it to go to a good Tallaght-based charity.

“I was delighted to be able to do something for such a small charity in Tallaght, especially considering how difficult the last two years have been for them.”

A cheque for €1,731.69 was handed over to Mary McLoughlin from HOPE in Tallaght Fire Station last week, as part of the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the station.

Mary from HOPE, which is based in Westpark Gate in Tallaght Village, said that the donation has provided much-needed funds for the group, which has 20 regular clients and a small team of eight volunteer counsellors and eight general volunteers.

“It means a huge amount,” she said. “We missed out on a lot of our fundraising because of Covid, but this money will top up our account and help us to pay bills and run courses in the near future.

“We’re planning to run a suicide intervention course for local firefighters and guards, and then we’re hoping to get into sports clubs after that.”

When asked about what it’s been like in HOPE over the last two years, Mary said: “There’s a huge amount of demand for our services.

“We did stay open in the pandemic, and most of the counselling would’ve been done by telephone.

“We have about 20 regulars who come into us, but we’ve seen a good 300 to 400 people since we opened up.”

The services provided by HOPE are firmly rooted in the Tallaght community, which means being selected as the chosen charity for a coin marking the 40th anniversary of Tallaght Fire Station has a particular resonance for them.

“It means a huge amount to think that Derek decided to donate the money from the coin to us,” said Mary.

“Particularly because it’s a coin that’s for the 40th anniversary of Tallaght Fire Station, so to be included in that is very, very special.”

Derek added that he wanted to thank Bryan Murphy, Declan Byrne from Fire Ireland, the management of Dublin Fire Bridge and DFB’s chief fire officer Dennis Keeley for their help and support.

“None of this would’ve been possible without their support,” said Derek.

HOPE can be contacted via phone on 089 610 5476, or by messaging the HOPE Suicide Prevention Centre Tallaght Facebook page.

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