'Looking down from above': Limerick mum wins three draws on beloved late daughter's birthday

THE FAMILY and friends of a Limerick woman who died in 2022 have marked what would have been her 35th birthday with fun, community and a heaven-sent donation.

Since the death of Annie O'Donoghue's daughter, Amanda O'Donoghue, in January 2022, family and friends have gathered together around Amanda's birthday each year for a soccer tournament in her memory.

Speaking to Limerick Live from her daughter’s graveside, Annie explained that this year, on the group’s fourth year of the tournament, it fell on the day of Amanda’s birthday, August 16.

This year would have marked the 35th birthday of the Hyde Road native, who died aged just 31.

The annual event has become a way for Amanda’s loved ones to mark her birthday with a day filled with fun and joy, turning tragedy into a way for family and friends to come together.

Some family members even flew in for the event all the way from London!

It was Amanda’s friends who first came up with the idea, Annie explained: “One or two of her friends mentioned it to me at the time, they organised the first one. I wasn’t really able to be thinking of things like that, as at the time it was too soon. But now we enjoy it and we look forward to it every year.”

READ MORE: Limerick community radio promotes imagination with new show

The event has grown year on year, with the family going “a little bit extra” this year as it fell on Amanda’s birthday.

As well as a women’s tournament and a men’s tournament, they also had bouncy castles, face painting and a DJ, with the whole affair being filmed by a drone from the sky.

Woman of the Match and Man of the Match were crowned, with the titles going to Latoya Ray O'Donoghue and Aaron O'Donoghue, respectively. Baby Ella won the prize for Best Entertainment!

Amanda’s loved ones decided to spread the joy and love, raising money for her old school, Our Lady of Lourdes National School.

The total initially amounted to €244 but, through what can only be described as Amanda looking out for her family from above, Annie struck gold in three separate draws on the evening of her daughter’s birthday.

She kindly donated €200 of her winnings to the school, bringing the total to €444.

“I want to thank everyone in the community that helped out with food and everything else,” Amanda said, before expressing her delight that “everyone had a great time - I’m still getting text messages from people saying that they really enjoyed it and they’re looking forward to the next one”.