Ireland’s Call 6 Nations Gala Ball 2020 in aid of the IRFU Charitable Trust
On Saturday 25th January we welcomed our many supporters to the third Ireland’s Call Ball in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. Following on from the success of the previous Ball’s we challenged ourselves to raise more valuable funds and to ensure all our guests enjoyed their night.
Our MC Eugene McCague thoroughly entertained over 230 guests, the main ballroom in the Shelbourne Hotel was full with lots of glamour against a backdrop of sparkly black linens and crystal candelabra’s. This entertainment included a very interesting interview with three Grand Slam Winners Fiona Coghlan, Jamie Heaslip and Dan Leavy. Jamie accepted an award for his contribution to Irish Rugby and told us what he has been doing since he hung up his boots.
Later in the evening Joe Schmidt chatted to Mick Quinn who gave great insight into the past year and what he has been busy doing since his retirement.
We were delighted that Mike Scott, one of our seriously injured players who received a life changing injury whilst playing rugby gave us an update as to what he has been doing over the last year. He is very grateful for all the help he has received from the Trust since his injury.
Over €60,000 was raised during the night in the Live Auction conducted by Keith Lowe of DNG and in the Silent Auction. These funds will have a tremendous impact on our fundraising for the year and will enable us to provide valuable assistance to those players who have been injured.
We would like to thank our main sponsors KPMG, Northern Trust and H+K International and to everyone who provided auction prizes and table spot prizes on the night, also to those who generously bought tables and auction items. The team at Planit had everything running smoothly and The Swing Cats made sure everyone was boogying until the early hours.
Special thanks to the organising Committee who gave up many many hours of their time for many months to help in the organisation – Frank Gannon, Stephen Jacobs, Mick Quinn, Helen Gannon, Laoise Healy, Danny Cox, Tanya McEnroe, Marie-Christine McCague, Eugene McCague, Antoinette Redmond, Spencer Simmonds, Niall Rynne, Sarah Fallon, Audrey Toner, Keith Lowe, Linda Black and Michael Whelan.
We hope you all enjoyed your night at The Shelbourne Hotel and look forward to welcoming you again in 2021.
