A 25 year old from Lahinch is the new owner of a Salthill property after winning a fundraising draw.
Aoife Rynne who currently lives with her parents and two brothers in North-West Clare was the winner of Castlegar GAA Club’s ‘Win a Home in Salthill’ fundraiser. Ironically, their hometown of Lahinch was the destination for the ‘Win a Home in Lahinch’ fundraiser carried out by Clare GAA last year.
Presently studying a Bachelor of Science in Bioscience at the University of Limerick, Aoife who works part-time for network provider Circet said that she has been relieved of a lifelong responsibility.
She commented, “I definitely always knew that I wanted to own something, but I thought that it would be a lifelong thing, especially given how everything is going on in the housing market now, and how expensive it is and how there’s nothing to buy. The likelihood was getting further and further away and now, I have my own apartment. I still can’t believe it”.
Moving to Galway had already been the plan for Aoife after she finishes her course in the coming months with her eye drawn to prospective employers like Boston Scientific and Medtronic. Securing the one-bedroom apartment alleviates the need for her to conduct a search for accommodation.
Rynne outlined that she will relish the peace and quiet of her new home. “The area is everything that I love, the beach across the road and the cinema around the corner are perfect for me. I only walked around the corner from the apartment but there are so many good pubs and restaurants nearby. I just feel so lucky, I can’t believe my ticket was picked and I will always be so grateful to everyone who ran the fundraiser”.
Some 14,000 tickets were purchased for the draw with hopeful homeowners across all 32 counties, Asia, Australia, Europe and 45 states in America shelling out €100 for a ticket. As a result of the draw Castlegar GAA Club raised over €1.4 million from the raffle, making it of the most successful fundraising draws to ever take place on this island.
All proceeds from the draw are going towards the newly built state-of-the-art Arás at Castlegar GAA. The Club are also making donations from the draw to Galway Hospice, the Galway Rape Crisis Centre and to two local churches.
