Website and Blog for the Sam McMahon Trust

This year the King of Greystones Triathlon takes place on Saturday August 7th.  With a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5k run you need to need to be reasonably fit to compete. But you don’t  need to have any special training to help out. We need helpers to direct competitors and give out water from 9am til lunch time.

You will receive a King of Greystones T-shirt, a goodie bag, free BBQ and entry to the Koo that evening .

If you can help us out then please contact: Aisling  (Aisling@yourleadbuddy.com) or Shane (Shane_McKenna@dell.com)

As The Sam McMahon Trust will benefit from this year’s event we will be out in force to support the Triathlon. Will we see you there?

Yesterday June 12th we held our 2nd Open Garden event. With the first visitors arriving at 9.50 in the morning and the last drifting off around 5.30 we were delighted but exhausted after such a great day. Although the weather has been unpredictable over the past few days, yesterday was different. The sun shone most of the time and at one stage someone said that it was a bit too hot!

Thanks to the team of workers who were kept busy for the whole day and thanks are due to all of the kind people who baked delicious cakes, buns and goodies for us. And thanks to you for coming, for taking time out of your weekend to support the event.

This year the Open Garden event will take place on June 12th at 40 Templeroan Avenue in Knocklyon. The garden will open from 10am until 4pm and entrance is €5. There will be tea, coffee and plenty of home-made goodies.

Tickets for our annual raffle will be on sale on the day. With 15 superb prizes including a weekend for two people in London, no doubt they will sell out fast! Tickets will cost €10 for a book of 5, and there will be a limited number of goodie bags for early purchasers on the day.

The garden will open, rain or shine and all proceeds will go to the Sam McMahon Trust and the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA).

Last night at the Radisson Blu Hotel, chef Andrew Rudd entertained over two hundred guests with mouth-watering recipes and a demonstration that would encourage and motivate even the most reluctant cook. Thai Fishcakes, Chicken Satay, Medallions of Lamb with Mint and Coriander Salsa and Fragrant Thai Chicken Curry were created with ease. Desserts included Mascarpone and Ricotta Cheesecake and Meringue Roulade. While he cooked, Andrew regailed the audience with stories about his grandmother and tips on where to buy the best (and cheapest!) utensils and the highest quality produce. Thanks Andrew for a superb evening and for giving your time so generously. We wish you every success in the future.

There were 25 spot prizes, all supplied by kind sponsors, and goodie bags for ‘everyone in the audience’! Under the guidance of General Manager Neil Lane and the event co-ordinators Liga and Rebecca we couldn’t have asked for more. The Radisson Blu is a fabulous venue and we couldn’t have run the event without the expertise and support from the team there.

The  Loreto Rathfarnham Parents Association are a superb group. They had worked out every detail and were on hand to ensure that everything went according to plan. To those who sold tickets, packed goodie bags and spent the evening working, thank you! Thanks also to Sr Maria, Principal for her willingness to take the project on board and to Eugene Gargan who did MC on the night,  you did a great job!

To Clare and Pat, Sam’s grandmothers, thanks for being there and helping us out. To Karen, Andrew’s assistant, you took on a tough job and did us proud and to Sue who worked away hours before the event to ensure that everything was ‘just so’. To Jennie who gave up Wednesday evening to help with the goodie bags and to all of those people who worked quietly away in the background, we appreciate it. Thanks also to Ray and the gang at Menupages for their support. And finally to Sandra, who works tirelessly for Sam while being a busy mum and business women, we couldn’t do this without you.

And to each and every one of you that bought tickets and made the night fun, thanks!!!

Less than 3 weeks to go to the Andrew Rudd cookery demonstration fundraiser in St. Helen’s Radisson Hotel, Stillorgan, Dublin. Tickets cost 25 euro – everyone attending receives a goody bag and free entry into the raffle on the night with some great prizes including a nights stay at The Ritz and dinner in Gordon Ramsay restaurant for two. Tickets can be bought here.

Chef Andrew Rudd, who has a cookery slot on TV3′s Ireland AM show has joined the fund raising campaign for the Sam McMahon Trust. Andrew, who has been cooking since he was a child has turned his passion for food into a successful company, The Andrew Rudd Food Group. As well as holding cookery classes, they import premium food products including balsamic vinegars and olive oils

Andrew will give a demonstration on May 23rd at 8pm in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Stillorgan. The proceeds will be shared between the Sam McMahon Trust and Loreto National School, Rathfarnham. tickets are available online here and cost €25.

Monday night saw chef Neven Maguire demonstrate a selection of recipes in aid of the Sam McMahon Trust and FARA. The night was a huge success. There is no doubt that Neven is truly Ireland’s greatest chef. He wowed the audience with recipes and techniques, posed for endless photos and signed books.  The Grosvenor Suite in the D4 Berkeley provided a suitable setting for the night. With prizes that included a meal in McNeans House and Restaurant (Neven’s own restaurant), hampers and a stunning bag from Coze di Roze in Cabinteely the raffle tickets were in demand from the start of the evening.

Many days and night were spent preparing for Monday’s event. Special thanks go to Clare, Fergus, Ray, Sandra, Karen, Sue, Jennie, Brian, Ben, Sam, Larry, Marie, Mary, Helen, Ashley and Denise. We couldn’t have done it without your help! Thank You!

The Sam McMahon Trust and Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance are to benefit from a cookery demonstration by award-winning chef and restaurateur Neven Maguire in the D4 Berkeley Hotel on 8^th March 2010.

Following a drinks reception at 7pm, Neven will demonstrate how to cook some great recipes taken from his new culinary guide and cookbook, “Home Chef”, at 8pm.

Determined to raise the standards of home cooking, Neven Maguire will demonstrate how to transfer his expertise from the restaurant to the domestic kitchen, offering expert advice to both the novice and experienced cook.

The event is sponsored by Menupages.ie and D4hotels.ie.

Tickets, which would make an ideal Valentines gift for a foodie, are priced at just €25 each, and if ordered before 7^th February, delivery is guaranteed in time for the big day!

Tickets are available from www.menupages.ie/sam

As regular followers of this site know, Mark Geary took time out of his busy schedule to play for Sam at the end of November 2009.  The night was a great success and valuable funds were raised for the Sam McMahon Trust and the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA). To read the review and to see photos from the night click here.

The Sam McMahon Trust has organised a number of fund raising events throughout 2009. The monies raised are used for Sam’s medical needs and for the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA). We were delighted to present FARA with a cheque for $10,000 at the Friedreich’s Ataxia Symposium in Philadelphia  on November 14th. Read their acknowledgement letter here.

Ron Bartek, President and founding member of FARA reminds us that

“Acting alone, there is very little any of us can accomplish. Acting together, there is very little we will NOT accomplish!”

Thank you to all of those who helped out at the events or contributed to the fund. We look forward to another successful year in 2010. Check out our events page for details of Neven Maguire’s Cookery demonstration next March.