GAA Club raises over €40k from glamour Oskars night

A DASH of Hollywood glamour was brought to the Green Isle Hotel in Clondalkin last weekend when Thomas Davis GAA held an Oskars event – and raised over €40,000 for the club.

Members of the club got to screen their own short form reimagining of major films, including ‘Veronica Guerin’ and ‘The Hangover’, which they devised and starred in.

A total of 77 members of the club took part in creating seven films which were screened and well received at the glittering event on Saturday.

Carmel McGinty from Thomas Davis told The Echo: “The atmosphere was electric, it was very overwhelming to see everyone so done up.

“About 77 members came to an information night earlier this year about the films, then we had a cast night in early March and a launch night in April.

“Everyone enjoyed the journey, they said it was a memorable experience and a lot of people made new friends.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the money that was raised was still being counted but the total stood at over €40,000.

The funds will be used so the club can install a toilet near its astro pitch, upgrade its hurling wall for juvenile players, and the purchase of a mower for the maintenance of the two pitches.

Reflecting on the success of the Thomas Davis Oskars, Carmel said: “I’d like to do another fundraiser, but maybe something different.

“I’d like to thank all of the people who got involved, for putting together the movies, and I hope they’ll cherish the memories from this forever.

“I want to say a special thank you to the committee members, they were all brilliant – they brought so much energy and enthusiasm, which made it so successful.”

The event, and the filming of the short films, was organised by Kevin Rowe Events.