Sporting Dinner Serves Up Support for Local Charities The 10th Jim Birrell Memorial Sports Dinner raises £6800
Media Release 18 May 2015 Over 140 guests recently attended the 10th Sports Dinner held in memory of Fife man, Jim Birrell, raising £6800 for two local charities. The Maggie’s Centre in Kirkcaldy and Asbestos Action Tayside both received a cheque for £3400 from the Jim Birrell Memorial Sports Dinner which has now raised nearly £62,000 for a range of good causes since the inaugural event in 2005. Jim enjoyed going to Sports Dinners and after his passing from cancer at the age of 54, his close friends and son organised a memorial event for family and friends. Starting out with fairly modest ambitions to raise some money for the Maggie’s Centre in Edinburgh as a thank you for the support they had given Jim’s family during his illness, the first dinner raised nearly £9000. Guests urged the organisers to keep the event going and many of those who attended in 2005 continue to support the dinner to this day. In recognition of this, and to mark the 10 th dinner, guests were asked to vote for who they would like to see feature on the top table of speakers. Their response was to choose three of the premier names from Scotland’s after dinner circuit, Frank Robb, Joe Camay and former Motherwell and Morton footballer John Gahagan, all of whom have become friends and firm favourites of the dinner, making 10 appearances between them over the years. The evening kicked off with a piper and drummer leading in the top table. In a first for the dinner, Jim's grandchildren, Robyn (10) and Niven (2) joined them and were applauded into the room. Robyn, who was just nine months old when her ‘Di’ passed away, has spent the last few years helping to set up the room on the day and the Dunfermline Athletic season ticket holder was rewarded with a signed shirt presented by dinner guest and Pars legend, John Watson. Raith Rovers media officer, Ally Gourlay, delivered a tribute to Jim, a friend and former work colleague who he described as an inspirational man who always stayed positive and upbeat during his illness. Ally said that such an outlook had inspired and helped him following his own cancer diagnosis in April last year. In an emotive and powerful speech, Ally urged guests to make the most of life, never waste a minute and constantly tell those important to them just how much they mean. He also encouraged those in the audience who may be estranged from family and friends to 'make the call' as one never knows when it could be too late. Joe Camay, who noted that the dinner is fondly talked about by many of the previous speakers, compered the evening, presiding over a bumper auction and raffle. The auction featured donations from both Rovers and the Pars as well as signed football shirts from Kenny Dalglish, Sir Geoff Hurst and Ryan Giggs and a signed dart board by Scotland’s World Champion, Gary Anderson. Flower baskets made by Jim’s sister Cathy were also very popular with a friendly bidding war concluding the night for the bouquets on offer.
Representatives from both charities attended on the night. The Maggie’s Centre at the Victoria Hospital had yet to be built when the dinner first started and the Committee thought it would be fitting to recognise the inaugural beneficiary and do something to directly support the Fife centre. Alison Harrow, Centre Head said “on behalf of Maggie’s Fife, I want to say a huge thank you to the family and organisers of the Jim Birrell Memorial Sports Dinner for this wonderful donation to Maggie’s. These events help us to continue to offer programmes of emotional, practical and social support to people diagnosed with cancer and their friends and families”. The committee had also seen the support that Asbestos Action Tayside provided to a friend and their family and with an expanded region now covering much of East Central Scotland, wanted to do something to help. Asbestos Action's Dianne Foster said “fundraising events like this are so important to our charity as we rely solely on donations and the support of our members. Referrals to our service continue to rise and asbestos related conditions show no sign of abating. I would like to thank Jim Birrell’s family and the committee for including us. The evening was a great success and a fantastic night out”. Plans are already underway for the 11th dinner, due to take place on the 19th March 2016. Jim’s friend Calum Gallacher one of the founding organisers said “the dinner has always been about Jimmy and inviting people to come together to enjoy a night that he would have loved in his memory. The 10th dinner was a hugely emotional and memorable night for so many of us. I don’t think any of the organisers would ever have imagined the dinner raising so much for good causes but we are hugely grateful to all of our guests and supporters who have achieved this together. When we announced the intention to keep going, there was a big round of applause from the audience and it was great to see that the dinner has become an annual fixture for so many people”.
ENDS
More info: Steven Birrell, steven.birrell@me.com Images: Presentation 1: Stuart Wilson, one of the founders of the dinner joins former Dunfermline Athletic striker John Watson to present a signed top to Jim’s granddaughter, Robyn. Jim Birrell: Jim pictured with Robyn in September 2004 the day after she was born. Presentation 2: From left to right, Calum Gallacher (Jim Birrell Sports Dinner), Dianne Foster (Asbestos Action Tayside), Stuart Wilson (Jim Birrell Sports Dinner), Louise Duncan, Anne Foster, Alison Harrow (all Maggie’s Fife). Presentation 3: As above