Derry sisters Annette and Kitty McDaid to be remembered with Marie Curie fundraiser
Creggan’s Annette McDaid, affectionately known as the Queen of Culdaff Gardens, will be fondly remembered along with her sister Kitty by their friends and family at a special community event.
Annette had been planning a fundraiser for Marie Curie before she sadly died in September in memory of her sister Kitty, who passed away just nine months earlier in January. In the previous few years Annette had organised coffee mornings in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
In Annette’s honour, this Saturday, November 15, her niece, Fiona McDaid, and close friends and neighbours, Shannon Canning and Emily Rooney, are holding a coffee morning in aid of Marie Curie and everyone is invited.
The coffee morning is taking place in Creggan Community Collective's An Cró Mór centre in Cromore Gardens in Creggan, from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
Fiona, whose family has tragically suffered five bereavements this year, invited the community along to the unveiling of a memorial bench for Annette at 12.00pm in Culdaff Gardens.
“Annette lived in Culdaff Gardens most of her life,” said Fiona. “She was one of the original residents. She always lived in number 10.”
“Everybody in the street wanted to do something to remember Annette,” said Shannon. “She was the lifeblood of Culdaff Gardens.
“She was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago and since then she had organised an annual coffee morning fundraiser for Macmillan. This year, especially after her sister Kitty passed away in January, she wanted to do it for Marie Curie, in Kitty’s memory,” added Shannon.
"So, we had a wee bench out the front of Annette’s House and we have refurbished it. We painted it purple and added a small plaque with her picture to it.
"We are going to put it down in a little garden corner, in her memory. We thought it would be lovely to unveil it on the same day, just before the Marie Curie coffee morning.
“We have a couple of donation buckets out already. We have one in the Creggan Community Collective Centre - Gary Donnelly has taken one. Eamonn McKeever has one at the Creggan Shops, Thomas in the Spar has one as well, and there is one at Gas Stop Stores on the Strand Road.
“People will be able to sit on Annette’s bench. The wanes play football there too which is great because Annette loved the wanes in the street. She planned every street party. She did the barbecue for it. This year we didn't get any funding for the street party and Annette being Annette, funded a good chunk of it herself,” said Shannon.
“She told us to make sure the wanes in the street had the best street party ever, and they did,” said Emily. “She wasn’t able to get out to it this year because she wasn’t well enough”.
“Annette reared every one of her nieces and nephews,” said Fiona. “She was their second mammy but she never made a big deal of anything she did for anybody.
"To be honest, this has been a terrible year for our family,” added Fiona. “We have had five bereavements, Kitty and Annette, their nephews, Richie McDaid and his brothers Brendan and Fergal. They lost their sister Gemma three years ago. Annette was the glue of their family."
“She was the glue of the whole street,” said Emily, “The day I moved into Culdaff, Annette landed over with a cup of tea, and scone.”
Extending an open invitation for everyone to come to the bench unveiling and coffee morning in memory of Annette and Kitty, who had lived nearby in the family home in Rinmore Drive, Fiona said relatives living in England were also coming over.
“She raised £2,000 last year and it would be great if we could do the same this year,” added Fiona,
“This year, sadly, it is also a memorial for Annette. It is about remembering what she did for people in the community. A lifelong Republican, Annette had a heart of gold. She would have given you the coat off her back.
"Kitty and Annette were always there for people and, I think, that is why they were so respected by the community.”
Donations to the fundraiser can also be made at the ‘Fiona's fundraiser for Marie Curie’ page on the Justgiving website justgiving.com
To date almost £1,000 has been raised online ahead of the vevents this weekend.
On the Page Fiona wrote: “In memory of our beautiful aunts Annette and Kitty, two sisters who passed away within months of each other.
"Annette sadly lost her battle in September and we as a family knew it was her wish to raise some funds this year for Marie Curie and sadly never got the chance to do so. We are going to continue that wish for her.”
Marie Curie offers numerous services in Northern Ireland, including a range of community and outpatient services, like relaxing therapies and breathlessness workshops, to anyone affected by terminal illness.
Its Urgent Hospice Care at Home service is available across all five trust areas in Northern Ireland.
Companion volunteers in Northern Ireland meanwhile also provide practical and emotional support at home and in hospital.
They offer free, flexible and personalised help to people at the end of life, and to their families and carers.
The Companion at Home service is available across all five trust areas and people or loved ones can refer to this service by calling 028 9433 1868.
Marie Curie also offers free bereavement support for anyone experiencing grief, whether their bereavement was expected, happened recently or was some time ago. This includes post-bereavement counselling and a bereavement café, which provides a safe space for people to find comfort and support in their shared experiences.
The Fatigue, Anxiety and Breathlessness Programme meanwhile helps people with progressive, life-limiting illnesses to cope better with some of their symptoms and enjoy a better quality of life.