Pictured: left to right Declan Mc Donnell and Michael Fogarty.
Fiver Friday is something most people will be familiar with. The long-running Joe Duffy initiative was the idea of Mark Begg, a caller to the show who expressed his dismay at seeing small businesses like his struggling to keep up.
Mark suggested a campaign to encourage the people of Ireland to spend an extra €5 to help give the businesses in their locality a boost. It has morphed into a nationwide event, with large amounts of money raised for charity and local causes.
Sandymount Hardware are leading the way locally and have been running their own Fiver Friday since 2012. We spoke to Declan McDonnell about how it has grown from an occasional event to what he hopes will be a monthly drive for charities. “Joe Duffy’s Fiver Friday is only every now and again but we wanted to do it regularly,” he told us. “We have big-selling items like bird feed for €5 and we give 5% of every sale to different charities. We also do a free raffle, for something around €100, a hamper or voucher for the shop, then we send a notice to entrants when we are having a Fiver Friday. 1,600 notices were sent out the last time, we tell them who we’re raising money for too.”
With last December’s event raising €500 for St Vincent De Paul, from one shop in one day, the possibilities seem obvious, so why aren’t more local businesses getting involved? We asked around and found people who didn’t realise their businesses could help, but around the country there have been very diverse companies and professionals getting involved, with vets offering check-ups, opticians doing eye tests and even solicitors providing 20 minute consultations, all for €5.
The next Sandymount Hardware Fiver Friday is on March 6th, with the proceeds going to the Peter McVerry Trust.
By Steve Kingston
