Bog standard fundraiser for Boardsmill ladies

From ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ to ‘Scrap Saturdays’, Meath football clubs have never been short of new ideas for fundraisers.
And one ladies team has shown they are not been afraid of hard work either after spending last Saturday on the bog footing turf to sell in the locality.
Boardsmill Ladies’ team came up with the novel idea of buying a plot of turf in Coolronan Bog near Ballivor and, last Saturday, some 29 volunteers from the club spent the day stacking turf.
Many of them had never been on the bog before or footed turf and it proved to a be a great experience for all involved.
Team coach Tony Hannon explained the idea first came from Boardsmill club member David Dempsey who heard of a school down the country which undertook a similar fundraiser.
“We were struggling to find a fundraiser and it’s difficult to ask people for money in the times that are in it. We felt this way we were giving something back to people, and for every €4/€5 they gave, we would give them a bag of turf,” he said.
Many of the volunteers had never been on a bog before but Mr Hannon said they had great guidance from club member Jimmy Farrell who has saved turf for many years on the bog.
And the hard work is not yet over for the team as, within the next 10 days, they will be back to the bog to bag all the turf which will then be sold in the locality.
The club is now taking orders for turf and appealing for farmers with tractors and trailers to volunteer to help with deliveries in the parish. They are also appealing for locals to donate bags for the turf.
Already, they have got a response from people putting in their orders, and anyone who wants to order turf from the Boardsmill ladies can do so by contacting Tony on (086) 845 7880.