Donated Communion and Confirmation wear raises €1,730

A LOCAL woman raised €1,730 for good causes, the majority of which will go to the ASD unit of a Clondalkin primary school, by selling donated Communion and Confirmation dresses and suits.

Elaine Hyland, who is originally from Castle Park in Tallaght but has lived in Clondalkin for the last 20 years, handed over a cheque for €1,230 to St Peter the Apostle NS in Neilstown on Tuesday morning.

The remaining €500 will be used by Ms Hyland for food hampers for local people in need, with all the money being raised through her sales of occasion wear at the Belgard Abbey Market in Tallaght.

Since January, Ms Hyland has manned her stall at the market, called Twice As Nice Occasional Clothing, where she sold donated Communion and Confirmation clothing for between €20 and €70.

The clothing was all donated by St Peter the Apostle NS and members of the community, and in some cases, Ms Hyland gave dresses for free – 36, to be exact – to families in need.

However, last week she stopped selling Communion dresses until next year, and this week proudly presented a cheque to St Peter the Apostle NS to help with kitting out their ASD unit.

“I have to say, I have met some amazing families along the way, and I would like to thank them for the lovely, kind messages and photos sent to me of their children’s special day,” Ms Hyland told The Echo.

“I was very happy with the amount [raised], every penny I got went into what I did. I might have said, say, €20 for a dress, and people gave more.

“I never thought I would raise that much but it was just the generosity of people.”

Ms Hyland said she wanted to thank her fellow stallholders at the Glen Abbey Market for their support, the Making It Matter Community Shop for sponsoring the unit, and the community.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Ms Hyland already has her next fundraising initiative in the pipeline – this time for the benefit of local addiction service Clondalkin Tus Nua.

Ms Hyland will be at the Glen Abbey Market every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm, selling evening wear such as Debs and bridesmaids’ dresses at affordable prices to raise funds for Tus Nua.

“Thanks to each and every one that helped me along the way,” added Ms Hyland, when reflecting on her most recent successful fundraiser for the Neilstown primary school.

“I’m off now to look for storage for six months for the Communion dresses and suits, as in January 2024 I will be back up and running to do it all again.”

If anyone would like to donate any dresses or sponsor the rental of the market unit, they can contact Ms Hyland on elainehyland52@hotmail.com

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