Amy’s Bantry busking raises €575 for the children of Gaza

A HARVEST mass in Glengarriff inspired an eight-year-old girl to raise money for children affected by the war in Gaza.

It was after attending the special mass at the Sacred Heart Church, last September, that Amy McCarthy first got the idea of doing a fundraising gig.

On that occasion, people donated produce they had grown and the money raised from a mini-market, after the church service, was donated to Trocaire. Before leaving the church grounds, Amy broke into song and gave a very short, impromptu gig which netted €30 for the charity.

On the way home to Coonane, Amy resolved to go busking at Christmas time. Amy’s mother, Anna, who sings and plays the guitar, said she was surprised by her daughter’s confidence when busking in Bantry.

Young busker Amy McCarthy posing with her cousin Aisling Holland, on the right.

‘We went in after school and Amy began singing with her microphone. She sang her 10 songs, twice, over the course of an hour and she was a big hit,’ said her mother. ‘She was absolutely buzzing afterwards. She wasn’t nervous at all, just really excited.’

People stopped to listen to her and applaud. The song Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer proved popular, as did hymns like Silent Night and more modern songs like Shotgun. There were even a couple of traditional songs thrown into the mix.

Amy’s busking raised €200 on the day, but the figure quickly rose to €520 and topped out at €575.

Anna said donations continued to pour in during the month of January from people who saw online videos of her performance.

All of the money raised has been donated to Unicef, particularly the children affected by war in Gaza, she confirmed. Amy’s brothers Liam and Tom also added to the charitable coffers. Liam donated some of the money he got at Christmas, while the three siblings combined their efforts to raise more by doing The Wren on St Stephen’s Day.

Amy’s mother said her daughter is already looking at dates for another charitable busking session.