PICTURED: Fundraising manager Sheryl Knowles, Dr Michael Harty and Activities coordinator Caroline McMahon
Cahercalla Community Hospice will host a Christmas Market this Saturday (December 2), with more than 20 stalls, a switching on of Christmas lights and a visit from the big man himself on the cards.
Staff and management are welcoming people from across County Clare to experience the biggest Christmas market in Ennis this year, whilst learning about what’s on offer at Cahercalla Community Hospice.
Chief organiser of the Christmas market, Caroline McMahon is activities coordinator at Cahercalla. Caroline tells The Clare Echo that in her 22 years of working in the industry, she’s never felt “such warmth and care as I do in Cahercalla”.
“We’re hosting a range of craft stalls, indoor and outdoor markets there will be baked goods, hand crafts, crochet, knitwear, handmade gnomes, jewellery, a food vendor, mulled wine and mince pies, carol singers, turning on of the lights by Mayor Pat Daly and our own ambassador Gerry Liddane and some members of the Clare hurling team. We’ll have Santa’s grotto and a little train on which he’ll arrive, it’s going to be a really good event. Everybody is invited. We’ve got musicians coming in, so there will be singing and entertainment.”
It is the second community event this year after a garden party was hosted in June when the community was invited “to reconnect with Cahercalla because Cahercalla is seen as part of the community in Ennis and Clare in general”.
Dr Michael Harty, Chairman of the Board of Cahercalla Community Care, adds, “For instance, the café closed during Covid and that has recently reopened, it’s available to the public and they can come in and have lunch or coffee and have a chat. Our church always had a mass and now it has a mass every Tuesday. It is always available to anyone who wants to come in and say a prayer, it’s a beautiful church.
“It belongs to the community. The Christmas market is to highlight all these facilities that are available for the community to come in and use.”
Cahercalla Christmas Market takes place on December 2 between 1-6pm.
