Michelle Craven had lived in New York for almost 30 years, and was very involved with the Roscommon GAA Club over there, serving as secretary for several years and helping to coordinate one of Roscommon’s championship visits to the Big Apple. She was also very supportive of many young Roscommon people who went over there, helping them get settled with jobs and somewhere to live.
Michelle was an avid darts player, and a member of different darts teams in New York, meeting many people socially – something she really loved. A large part of her working life was in the hospitality sector, working in different bars, many with Roscommon connections. Her social, outgoing, easy-going outlook on life made her ideal for this career, earning her great popularity and many good friends. She was well known both in New York and at home in Roscommon, where she had returned about ten years ago.
When Michelle passed away following her battle with cancer, her family were extremely grateful to the Mayo-Roscommon Hospice Foundation for the help and support they’d received. They wanted to support the Hospice, and in memory of Michelle, came up with the idea of a monster fun quiz at the Abbey Hotel, Roscommon, to try and raise much-needed funds for this highly-regarded organisation.
Discussions were had before and over Christmas, and eventually Saturday, January 31st, was chosen.
Preparations were allocated to willing volunteers. Some were tasked with raising sponsorship and donations, while others were given the job of organising the actual quiz. Liaising with the Mayo-Roscommon Hospice organisation was the remit of certain others, while the logistics of venue and requirements for the night fell on other capable shoulders. The iDonate online fundraising page was set up and publicised, and very generously supported.
Following numerous weeks of phone calls, emails, and meetings, the morning arrived, and everything was in place. The Abbey Hotel was decked out in balloons in the Roscommon colours. Answer booklets were printed off and stapled together, sponsors for the cash prizes were found, and tables were borrowed from Roscommon CBS across the road. A highly optimistic 60 tables were set out –“Ye’ll never need all of them!” was heard. All that was left was for the crowd to come in – and boy did they!
56 teams sat down for the quiz, a crowd not seen in many a long year. Family, friends, fellow parishioners, quiz buffs, people who just supported because of the amazing cause in question, all hoping for a fun quiz and an enjoyable night, which they got. There was a relaxed atmosphere, much sharing of answers, and a certain amount of Googling… allegedly! By the end of the tie-break round, there was white smoke, with first, second, and third places all determined. Also, there was a raffle which had in excess of 20 prizes, meaning nearly everyone went home happy.
Members of the Craven family spoke before and after the quiz, thanking everyone for their kindness and generosity, and commenting on how proud Michelle, the socialite, would have been to see such a crowd having such a great night. Sponsors and those who donated raffle prizes were all mentioned and thanked, while the Abbey Hotel got a special mention for generously donating the use of their function room for the night.
Once the dust had settled, and all the money collected and counted over the following few weeks, the remarkable sum of €17,000 had been raised for Hospice. The cheque has been presented to Martina Jennings, CEO of Mayo-Roscommon Hospice. Mayo-Roscommon Hospice are very grateful to receive this incredible amount and thank everyone involved in making it all possible.
