{"id":620171,"date":"2026-09-10T08:32:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T08:32:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/620171\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T08:32:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T08:32:24","slug":"boil-the-kettle-helps-relay-for-life-donegal-brew-up-huge-e263k-total","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/620171\/","title":{"rendered":"Boil the Kettle helps Relay For Life Donegal brew up huge \u20ac263K total"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A simple idea built around putting the kettle on helped Relay For Life Donegal raise an incredible \u20ac263,458 for the Irish Cancer Society this year.<\/p>\n

The 2026 total was unveiled at a special cheque presentation event in the Mount Errigal Hotel on Tuesday night, where the success of the new Boil the Kettle appeal was hailed as one of the standout stories of this year\u2019s Relay campaign.<\/p>\n

The latest figure brings the total raised by Relay For Life Donegal since it began locally to a remarkable \u20ac2,311,564.<\/p>\n

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Relay for Life Donegal committee members, volunteers and supporters pictured at tonight\u2019s cheque presentation event in the Mount Errigal Hotel, celebrating the incredible 2026 fundraising total. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

Teams, volunteers, survivors, carers, schools, entertainers, sponsors and supporters gathered in Letterkenny on Wednesday night to celebrate another powerful year of fundraising and remembrance.<\/p>\n

Relay For Life Donegal 2026 took place at ATU Letterkenny in May, with 32 teams taking part in the 24-hour event.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s campaign also saw the introduction of Boil the Kettle, a countywide appeal which encouraged people to host tea and coffee events in their homes, workplaces, schools and communities.<\/p>\n

The idea came from committee member Davy Cowan, who was inspired while driving in his car and hearing Daniel O\u2019Donnell\u2019s song Our House is a Home on the radio.<\/p>\n

The thinking behind the campaign was simple: when something goes wrong, the kettle goes on, and when something good happens, the kettle goes on too.<\/p>\n

The campaign snowballed further when patrons Daniel and Majella O\u2019Donnell came on board, culminating in their famous tea party revival at their home in Meenbanad at the end of July.<\/p>\n

More than 5,000 people turned out in the rain for Daniel and Majella\u2019s tea party<\/a>, which became one of the most talked-about fundraising events of the year.<\/p>\n

In all, Boil the Kettle stirred up more than 80 tea parties, with contributors adding over \u20ac100,000 to the final Relay total.<\/p>\n

Daniel, who was unable to attend the cheque presentation event, sent a video message on behalf of himself and Majella thanking everyone involved in the 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n

He thanked \u201cone and all\u201d for everything done throughout the year for Relay for Life Donegal, with a special mention to the new Boil the Kettle campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt turned out to be a wonderful idea and an amazing success,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to another great year next year, but tonight is about celebrating the great work that you did.”<\/p>\n

Relay For Life Donegal Chairperson Seamus Devine said Boil the Kettle helped bring Relay to a new audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s safe to say everybody in the country knows what Relay for Life is now because of Boil the Kettle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t understand, still even after 14 years, what the Relay for Life Donegal is about, but everyone understands what Boil the Kettle is.<\/p>\n

“The fun and enjoyment that we got out of that this year was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Davy Cowan receives a special \u201cNo-Bell Prize\u201d from Ivan Furey and Donal Kavanagh, recognising the bright spark behind his Boil the Kettle fundraising idea for Relay For Life Donegal.<\/p>\n

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Davy Cowan with Ivan Furey after being presented with a bell for the Boil The Kettle appeal at the presentation of the Relay For Life 2026 Cheque presentation event to the Irish Cancer Society. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

Schools across Donegal also played a major part in this year\u2019s success through Roll Call for Relay, coordinated by Tracey McBride.<\/p>\n

The school initiative helped bring the Relay message to children, parents and staff, with fundraisers including crazy hair days and \u201cbring anything but a bag\u201d events proving great fun while raising awareness and support.<\/p>\n

The cheque presentation event also honoured the teams, volunteers and entertainers who helped create the atmosphere around Relay weekend.<\/p>\n

Local singers, the Survivor Choir and the Ukulele Orchestra were among those praised for giving their time and helping to bring music, energy and emotion to the 24-hour event.<\/p>\n

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Ukulele Orchestra performs at the 2026 Presentation Event in the Mount Errigal Hotel<\/p>\n

The Luminaria ceremony was another major part of this year\u2019s Relay, with 5,600 candles sold.<\/p>\n

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The candlelit ceremony honours those lost to cancer, celebrates survivors and stands with those still going through their cancer journey.<\/p>\n

Edel Shovlin from Portnoo, Chief Operations Officer of the Irish Cancer Society, accepted the cheque on behalf of the charity and said the money raised in Donegal has a direct impact on people in the county.<\/p>\n

“Here in Donegal, we were able to provide 863 lifts to and from treatment for cancer patients who were receiving their treatment,” she said.<\/p>\n

\u201c217 people were allowed to die at home, surrounded by family and friends, using our Night Nursing service.<\/p>\n

\u201c86 people availed of free counselling, and over 1,100 one-to-one conversations happened either on our Support Line or via our Daffodil Centre here in Letterkenny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edel said the Irish Cancer Society wants to do even more for cancer patients and their families.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s these events that allow us to be really ambitious,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She also spoke about the importance of cancer research and support for people living after a diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe National Cancer Registry is telling us that more and more people are surviving a cancer diagnosis now, and it\u2019s money like this that allows research to happen. It allows treatment to become better and it allows people to survive cancer diagnoses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo in 1994, one in two people were surviving cancer, and now it\u2019s two in three in the 2020s.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the Irish Cancer Society is working to grow its mission in survivorship, including supports such as free diet webinars with an oncology dietician and exercise classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the type of events that go a long way to supporting these types of initiatives,\u201d she told Relay volunteers.<\/p>\n

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Monica McElhinney of the Irish Cancer Society pictured with Relay For Life Donegal committee members as she recognised their Global Impact Award, awarded after the committee ranked among the top Relay fundraising groups globally in 2025. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

Seamus also paid tribute to everyone who played a part in making Relay For Life Donegal 2026 such a success.<\/p>\n

He thanked survivors, teams, carers, schools, Boil the Kettle hosts, volunteers, media, entertainers, sponsors, candle sellers, ATU, Mount Errigal Hotel and everyone who has been a part of Relay for Life 2026.<\/p>\n

He also gave special recognition to the committee, whose work begins months before Relay weekend and continues right through to tonight\u2019s cheque presentation.<\/p>\n

The evening was MC\u2019d by Donal Kavanagh, Relay committee member, cancer survivor and well-known Highland Radio broadcaster, who jovially reflected on the year and the impact of Boil the Kettle.<\/p>\n

Relay For Life Donegal will return on 29th and 30th May 2027, with organisers already looking ahead to new ideas and major fundraisers for next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really looking forward to some more new ideas for next year. Not to say what they are at the moment, but there could be another couple of major fundraisers as part of it as well,” hinted Seamus.<\/p>\n

And, as Donal said on the night, 2027 is already shaping up to be \u201ca good one\u201d.<\/p>\n

To get involved in Relay For Life Donegal 2027, start a team, or find out more, follow Relay For Life Donegal on social media and visit:
https:\/\/www.relayforlife.ie\/event\/donegal\/home<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Sean Boyce, Treasurer presenting Edel Shovlin, Chief Operations Officer, Irish Cancer Society with the \u20ac263,458 raised at the Relay For Life 2026 Cheque presentation event to the Irish Cancer Society. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

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Relay For Life teams at the presentation of the Relay For Life 2026 Cheque presentation event to the Irish Cancer Society. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

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Team members at the presentation of the Relay For Life 2026 Cheque presentation event to the Irish Cancer Society. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

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Volunteers at the presentation of the Relay For Life 2026 Cheque presentation event to the Irish Cancer Society. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

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Team members at the presentation of the Relay For Life 2026 Cheque presentation event to the Irish Cancer Society. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

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Guests at the presentation of the Relay For Life 2026 Cheque presentation event to the Irish Cancer Society. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

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Some of the crowd at the presentation of the Relay For Life 2026 Cheque presentation event to the Irish Cancer Society. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n

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Survivors choir members at the presentation of the Relay For Life 2026 Cheque presentation event to the Irish Cancer Society. Photo – Clive Wasson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A simple idea built around putting the kettle on helped Relay For Life Donegal raise an incredible \u20ac263,458…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620172,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":["post-620171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}