On Wednesday 25th September a trip to the Guide Dog Centre in Cork was organised by Tom O’Neill who was joined by a group of local Balbriggan/North Co Dublin volunteers along with some of Tom’s and his son Eoin’s friends. The group travelled to Cork and back with Irish Rail who were most helpful to all but gave additional help to those on the trip who needed the extra support.

The headquarters pulled out all the stops! Chris Bennet of the fundraising department met the volunteers and friends off the bus when they arrived, he was accompanied by Tim O’Mahony, C.E.O and Mary Terry from the office staff. Sinead and her kitchen team laid on a lovely lunch and two local volunteers, Dermot and Tom broke the group up into two separate groups and showed everybody every part of the centre. It was a joy and also a lonesome moment to see Breege’s bus again.

The volunteers got to see the work involved for the students in training their new guide dogs as Sam the guide dog trainer demonstrated to the group. The feedback on the train home was that it was a wonderful trip. The staff were amazing and what a fantastic facility. A great day was had by all and we would like to thank the Headquarters for being so welcoming and showing us around.

As Christmas time approaches, you might want to keep a lookout for our merchandise stand over the next couple of weeks as we will be out and about. Keep an eye on our social media accounts for details on where we are going to be set up. We will have car raffle tickets available for €5, with the chance to win a Citroën C4 Plus Hybrid. Our 2025 calendars and Christmas cards will also be available.

Our Balbriggan/North County Dublin branch also held a coffee morning on 22nd of October in the Senior Citizen Hall in Balbriggan. Our raffle last year was a huge success at the event, and this year was no different! We gave away some fantastic spot prizes and a great morning was had by all.

You can contact Balbriggan/North County Dublin Branch of Irish Guide Dogs by phone/text 0857663107, email: GuideDogsBalbriggan@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Balbriggan Branch of Guide Dogs.