As we wrap up Relay for Life Wexford for another year I thought it would be good to look back and acknowledge what the community here in Wexford have achieved! Whilst we have a great committee who give freely of their time, I think it’s fair to say we could never do it without the support of our fantastic teams and those who support Relay in so many different ways!

We’ve just finalised our accounts and I’m delighted to announce that a whopping total of €86,000 was handed over to the Irish Cancer Society in the last few weeks. That money will help them to continue providing services such as the Volunteer Driver, Counselling and Night Nursing service, but it will also fund important research which is vital in the fight against cancer. Services such as these are invaluable to patients and their families at what can be a lonely, vulnerable time in their lives.

Although the money raised this year is down on last year’s don’t forget we’re still dealing with the challenges of a global pandemic and a 2nd Virtual Event was never going to be easy! People were worn down after a series of lockdowns and many were isolated and unsure if things would ever get back to normal. For the year that was in it when people had no motivation or push, the people of Wexford rallied, yet again, ensuring that our Relay remains one of the leading Relays in the country. 

At the heart of every Relay is a community and you won't get better than ours here in Wexford.  We started Relaying in 2016 and little did we know that it would grow into such an important community event that people look forward to each year! Jayne on our committee describes Relay like ‘a mini festival without the booze’ and hopefully we can look forward to that again in July 2022. In the short few years since we started here in Wexford we have raised just over €500,000…what an achievement!  Remember that money is supporting the provision of great services by The Irish Cancer Society and in turn helping those people who are affected by cancer…not forgetting that lots of people have lots of craic along the way!

To everyone who Relayed with us this year a massive, heartfelt, thank you. To the survivors who sent in photos to help us Celebrate, thank you. To those people who are not on teams, but come out in force to support our teams year after year, thank you. To anyone who simply purchased a candle bag, thank you. To the local business people who support both committee and teams with monetary donations, raffle prizes and/or food donations for events, thank you. Keep doing what you’re doing…you're all making a massive difference in the fight against cancer. That's the reason we do what we do and we want you to know that your work, support and loyalty is truly appreciated.. 

So on behalf of the committee I’ll finish by saying well done and I hope you’re very proud of the strength and determination you showed to help us keep the Relay flame burning brightly here in Wexford.

I look forward to seeing the back of this pandemic and, hopefully, being back in Pairc Charman in 2022.  As Powpowfizz would say ‘Up the Wella Bellies’

Gay Murphy (Chairperson)