Tea Party Girls raise €3k for Our Lady’s Hospice

A GROUP of women who have become known as the Tea Party Girls have raised nearly €3,000 for a hospice through a coffee and cake afternoon out in their front garden.

The Tea Party Girls were back with a bang this year, running a fundraiser for Our Lady’s Hospice, as part of Bewley’s Big Coffee Morning Social for Hospice on Saturday, September 16.

In a day marred with heavy rain showers, Alderwood in Springfield was a ray of sunshine bustling with activity as the Tea Party Girls offered cakes and hot refreshments to around 120 people.

“It went brilliant even with all of the rain,” Catherine Curry, one of the collective, tells The Echo.

“There were great crowds coming and going all day, it went well because we had the gazebos, so we were covered.

“We’ve raised €2,914 to date, so we’re doing well and people are still calling in to support.

“We are all delighted, hopefully it will be bigger and better again next year.”

Joan Wallace, Rita Cowap, Liz Russell, Phyllis Boyd, Catherine Curry and Winnie Manzon banded together early into the Covid-19 pandemic to enjoy cups of tea in each other’s gardens.

It was a way of socialising in a time of intense isolation, especially for people whose partners had died.

Last year, after their first coffee morning, Catherine said: “It helps us as well because four of us are widows, and we’re getting to come together to have a chat.”

It was a way of self-help, and they have not stopped meeting ever since.

Even after running their second big event, regular scheduled programming resumed this week with the Tea Party Girls meeting up once again for a cup of tea and a chat.

“We are still having our tea parties two or three times a week, weather permitting,” Catherine says with a chuckle.

“It’s great to just sit there and have a chat, we have a laugh about the stupidest things, sometimes it just lightens your whole day.”

Using one of their front gardens as the venue for the big fundraising coffee morning, people flocked to the Springfield house to grab a cuppa and a slice of cake, all for the cause.

Local businesses all came together to support the day, with Supervalu Fortunestown, Valley News, the Butcher’s Kitchen, Mix Flowers, St Mark’s GAA Club, Bitchen Kitchen and O’Leary’s Centra doing their part.

In advance of this year’s event, the team pulled out all the stops to promote it and they are hoping to make bigger strides again for the next edition in 2024.

For full access to all content on Echo.ie and to support the continuation of local news and local journalism in your community subscribe HERE.

Thanks for your ongoing support.