The Humanity Ball Surpasses €245,000 for Vital Charities

IT was announced today that a whopping €245,329 was raised for three charities as a result of The Humanity Ball, a prestigious black-tie New Year’s Eve charity gala ball which took in Tralee’s Ballygarry Estate Hotel & Spa on New Year’s Eve, attended by over 300 people. The primary charity that has benefitted is the Kerry Hospice Foundation which was presented with a cheque for €165,329 at an event today at the Ballygarry Estate Hotel & Spa, hosted by hotel owner Padraig McGillicuddy. Also, Louise Quill, founder of The Tír na n-Óg Children’s Foundation was on hand to receive a cheque for €40,000 and the One4Humanity charity also received a cheque for €40,000. Continued below… The Humanity Ball committee were delighted with the response from the Kerry corporate community after far exceeding the target they set of €200,000. Stephen Stack, chairman of The Humanity Ball said; “we are truly humbled by the generosity shown at the New Year’s Eve Humanity Ball. Raising €245,000 in a single evening for our three worthy charities is a powerful testament that what can be achieved when a community comes together with purpose, compassion and celebration. A huge thank you to everyone involved including our lead sponsors, table sponsors, purchasers of tables, private donors, providers of the unique auction prizes, to Padraig and the staff at the Ballygarry and, of course, to our outstanding committee. It was a powerful team effort by everyone.” Jack Shanahan, Kerry Hospice Foundation, who was delighted with the money which will go towards continued palliative care and also a new wing of their facility, commented; “Kerry Hospice Foundation is delighted and humbled by the enormous and generous support shown at the Humanity Ball. It was a unique event that showcased how the businesses of Kerry support the community in important and varied ways. We are truly grateful to be major beneficiaries and can guarantee that every euro raised will be invested in local Palliative care services. A huge thank you to all that made it such a success” Louise Quill, whose Tír na n-Óg Children’s Foundation is dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable children in Tanzania, said; “On behalf of everyone at Tír na nÓg Children’s Foundation, I want to extend our deepest thanks for being chosen as a beneficiary of the Humanity Ball. Our motto is to change one child’s life at a time, and the generosity shown by the organisers and contributors does exactly that. Your kindness doesn’t just support our work — it brings hope, opportunity, and real change to the children we serve. We are profoundly grateful for your belief in our mission and for helping us turn compassion into action.” Shane Leahy from One4Humanity, which provides medicine and mobile surgical units for the people of Gaza and Ukraine commented; “Thank you, we are incredibly grateful to the Humanity Ball for a magical New Year’s Eve and for the remarkable generosity shown throughout the night. Thanks to the dedication of the organizing committee, the compassion of the sponsors & everyone who attended, 3 charities will benefit in a meaningful way. It was a night that perfectly captured the spirit of humanity.” The Humanity Ball was spearheaded by Branch Manager of AIB Tralee, Stephen Stack, along with a committee comprising of people from the world of business in Kerry including Sean Ryan, Maeve Townsend, Ogie Moran, Dick Spring, Jimmy Deenihan, Brid McElligott, Keelin Kissane, Alex O’Donnell, Killian Burns, John Reen, Kevin O’Sullivan and Aisling McElligott.