BY HARRY WALSH
DOCTOR John Murray will make good on a promise he and his wife Phil made many years ago, this afternoon, with the official opening of Fiona House.
The retired Letterkenny dentist promised a number of families that they would provide permanent accommodation for their children – for life.
Now, following years of fund-raising and collections, that promise has been made good in the shape of Fiona House, the newly-extended hostel at 72 Ballyraine Park, named in memory of their daughter.
“The Little Angels School couldn’t have started all those years ago without the support of young students Maura O’Donnell, Sean McHugh, Mary T O’Hara, Keelan Mooney, Hugh McConalogue and Nigel Porter and their families for trusting us. That’s why I felt we had an obligation to them,” he explained.
Today Maura (Ballyshannon), Sean (Glenties), Mary T (Laghey), Keelin (Buncrana), Hugh (Carndonagh) and Nigel (Letterkenny) are all in their forties.
They are all resident in Fiona House where they have been joined by Conor Gallagher from Lough Eske.
Two weeks ago Carah Funston took on the role of House Manager and she is joined on the staff by Mary Thompson, Elaine Thompson, Rhona Crossan, Mary McKinney, Marie Morris, Joanne McElhinney and Jenny Dunleavy.
Fiona House cost €220,000 to develop. They received a HSE grant of €60,000 while they also get €110,000 every year to help with running costs but that still leaves an annual deficit of between €25,000 and €30,000.
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