Castlebar raises nearly €5,000 in aid of Rare Diseases Ireland

Castlebar Golf Club raised nearly €5,000 for Rare Diseases Ireland (RDI) - a patient advocacy national alliance for voluntary groups representing people affected by or at risk of developing a rare disease - at Captain Michael Kilcourse’s Captain’s Day.

Captain Kilcourse held his captain's charity day on 29 August in aid of Rare Disease Ireland (RDI) and in memory of Nikita O Malley, who sadly passed away in February 2021 from Stills Disease (ASOD) and secondary Hemophagocytic Lympheloishoglsis (HLH).

AOSD is a form of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, also known as juvenile Still's. It is a treatable condition but unfortunately, Nikita developed another serious condition called HLH, which is a rare but life-threatening immune system disease.

Nikita’s family — Noel, Kathleen, Jennifer and Vicki — thanked Michael Kilcourse for dedicating his Captains' charity day to the memory of Nikita and Castlebar Golf Club and its members for the use of the course for the day.

The day was a great success with a total of €4,875 raised thanks to a full timesheet and a very successful raffle on the night.

The money will help RDI and raise awareness of the many different rare diseases that exist.