The proceeds from the 2023 Pro Shop Challenge were recently presented to the beneficiaries, with two local Cork charities benefiting from over €20,000 each.  Cork ARC and Breakthrough Cancer Research were both selected as the charities that would benefit from the event, and both have strong links to the core of the event which was held in memory of Darragh Ryan.  Darragh was involved in the original Kinsale Pro Shop Challenge when he was raising funds for Special Olympics.  Sadly Darragh passed away in late 2022 after a battle with cancer.  Darragh’s uncle, Ian Stafford set about creating a special Pro Shop Challenge for 2023.  Firstly he managed to sign up Irish International Rory Best along with Kinsale tour professional to join John Murphy, Ger Broderick and himself in Kinsale.  Secondly the format changed from a team event to a challenging singles skins match which proved to be a huge success.  The event took place in August and over €40,000 was raised from personal and corporate donations.  It was an amazing amount to raise, with many of Darragh’s friends getting involved.  It was the fifth staging of the Pro Shop Challenge which started back in 2016 in Kinsale Golf Club.

The cheque presentation took place earlier this month and it was another emotional moment for Ian Stafford, he put the 2023 event together in memory of Darragh.  “It’s a hard question to answer if I’m proud of it, I haven’t looked at it that way” explained Stafford.  “Very grateful would be a more apt way of putting it.  Obviously going into it having John and Rory involved was going to give a different dimension to what we had before and the story behind it with Darragh being the inspiration for the Pro Shop Challenge in the first place there were a lot of people who were looking to pay tribute to Darragh.  That’s the thing that overwhelmed us the most.  Looking back, obviously we’d love to have Darragh here, but to have a tribute like this which has raised so much money for causes that are very close to our hearts he’d be very proud.  That’s the thing that gives us the most comfort from this.

Although it’s not clear if there will be a 2024 event, Stafford did commit that the Pro Shop Challenge would definitely be back at some stage.  “Sometimes you can be a victim of your own success, we’ve had five Pro Shop Challenges and every one has beaten the amount raised the year before, and that’s going to be very very hard to do again.  Obviously the profile is up there so it’s going to be hard to top what we did this year.  Let’s not rule anything out.”

The charities were delighted with the large amount that was raised from the event.  Karen O’Sullivan is the Development Manager with Cork ARC and she was delighted to receive the cheque from the fifth staging of the event.  “We are blown away by the generosity of those who support The Pro Shop Golf Challenge” said Karen.  “The event was a lovely way to honour Darragh’s memory and the funds raised will have a significant impact on the services that we provide.  All our services in Cork ARC Cancer Support House are free of charge and so donations like this allow us to continue providing support to people in Cork with cancer and their loved ones”

Cork ARC was founded in 2001 and has close to 100 volunteers providing support and services to over 1,000 people each year.  “We provide evidence based services to patients, their families and carers ranging from psychological support, survivorship programmes, complimentary therapies such as yoga and relaxation classes and support groups” added Karen.  “We will be spending time with Darragh’s family to discuss the best way that they would like the funds to be used.”

Breakthrough Cancer Research were the second charity to benefit from the event and Fundraising Manager Eoghan O’Sullivan was delighted to accept the cheque from the August event.  “We are humbled to have benefitted hugely from the recent Pro Shop Challenge held in Kinsale Golf Club in memory of Darragh Ryan. It was bittersweet to have received such an extraordinary donation of €20,356, from Darragh’s family, parents Colman and Ramona Ryan, brother Jack and uncle Ian Stafford.

“The funds received from this event will help Breakthrough Cancer Research in our mission to make more survivors of cancer through research and will be invested in new programmes to develop new and better ways to detect and treat currently difficult to treat cancers.  We are currently supporting over 160 cancer researchers in 13 institutions across the island of Ireland and so this huge injection will allow us to continue funding the best and brightest with projects that aim to benefit future generations.”