The Mater Foundation Heart Appeal is an annual fundraising campaign that seeks to raise vital funds for the Mater Hospital’s Family Heart Screening Clinic. The clinic – which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2017 – screens families for potentially fatal inherited cardiac conditions such as Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) and Long QT Syndrome.

Since it opened, the clinic has tested over 8,000 people and in 2016 started screening children as young as 8 years of age. As inherited cardiac condition are often hidden, the Family Heart Screening Clinic uses specialised equipment to test family members who have lost a loved one to such a condition.

The cardiologists, physiologists and nurses at the clinic have this year identified the need for a new ECHO machine – which takes an ultrasound of the heart – and Holter Monitors – which monitor heart activity over a set period of time. These are necessities, especially now that the clinic is screening children, as they provide much better imaging and testing capabilities.

The Friends of Ciaran Maree Cancer Research and Development Fund present ‘That Holiday Feeling’, a night of music and craic, which will support cancer research and patient care at the Mater Hospital.

Featuring Fergal Flaherty and Friends, the evening will be one to remember, and takes place in the Headfort Arms Hotel in Kells, Co. Meath.

Please see the poster below for more information.

Join the Mater team for the Berlin Marathon and the hard miles you run will make life easier for patients of the Mater Hospital.

The Berlin Marathon is one of the most popular road races in the world, and regularly attracts up to 40,000 people from over 100 countries.

Join us and make huge strides for patients back home in the Mater with every step you take in the capital city of Germany.

The course begins and finishes near the Brandenburg Gate and the 26.2 mile course sees thousands of locals come out to welcome and cheer along the runners. You’ll be buoyed along by musical support along the attractive city course – with about 80 bands putting on their own ‘music marathon’ – and are carried to the finish by countless spectators. It is an unforgettable experience for every marathon fan!.

Choose the Mater Foundation your charity for the Berlin Marathon, and make a lasting difference to patient care in the Mater.

Would you like to recreate a famous Hollywood movie scene? Fancy feeling like a movie star? What about a night on the red carpet? We want Mater staff to take part in, or attend, the Oskars – a night of glamour and fame supporting patient care in the Mater Hospital!

We all know of the Oscars: Hollywood’s most famous night, where the entire movie industry comes together to celebrate the best productions, most enigmatic characters, and the inspiration that goes into the films we love.

On 10th November 2017, the Oskars – the Mater Hospital’s answer to Hollywood’s event – will take place in the Helix, Dublin. You can either take part in the filming of movie scenes or support your colleagues by attending the event.

Taking Part

We are looking for Mater Hospital staff (individuals, colleagues, departments) to come together and recreate scenes from some incredible movies, such as Forrest Gump and The Shawshank Redemption. No acting experience is required and the scenes will be filmed in the weeks preceding the Oskars Awards Night.

• Casting takes place on 20th September between 10 am and 2 pm in the Freeman Auditorium in the Mater Hospital. If you are unavailable then, it might be possible to arrange another time.
• 4 training sessions (including acting classes) will take place on 25th September, 2nd October, 9th October, and 16th October
• Filming on location happens between 21st October and 29th October. There is a 4.5 hour commitment for this, with times to be agreed.
• The Oskars ceremony takes place in The Helix on Friday 10th November and will include awards for Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Actor, Highest Grossing Movie, and Highest Individual Fundraiser.

The Oskars will support End-of-Life Family Rooms and the Hostel Accommodation in the Mater Hospital, so we want all aspiring actors to raise as much funds as possible to improve these vital patient and family services!

Each actor must raise at least €300!

Tickets

If you’re not taking part, then why not attend the event! Tickets are €30 per person and the On-Sale date will be announced in an All-Staff email soon and also be posted on this website. Remember, The Mater Does Strictly, last year’s hospital fundraiser, sold out in just 90 minutes!

Sign Up

To sign up for the event, or find out more about it, please email oskars@mater.ie or call the Mater Foundation on (01) 830 3482.

Watch a trailer for Forrest Gump below!

The Oskars – Forrest Gump Trailer from Mater Foundation on Vimeo.

MUCK OF KELLS, a 5 km race with 50 obstacles set in rural woodlands, takes place on March 3rd this year.

We’re looking for Celtic Warriors going to the Muck of Kells to Join Our Clan and fundraise for Patient Care in the Mater Hospital.

If you join our team, you and your friends will be climbing, swinging, jumping, diving and crawling through the course to fund Life-saving equipment like Chemotherapy Pumps, Vital Signs Units and Mobile Heart Monitors for hospital patients. That means you won’t hesitate at any challenge, from the Watch Tower to the Rack, because it’s for a great cause.

While you’re charging through the woodland at the edge of the ancient town of Kells, hauling yourself up ropes and across ditches, you’ll be working to change people’s lives as they undergo treatment in the Mater Hospital. There is a patient that needs your support and who you’ll help by braving cold streams, wood walls and mucky pits.

Choose the Mater Foundation as your charity for the MUCK OF KELLS, and make an important and needed difference to Patient Care in the Mater Hospital.

SPARTAN RACE IRELAND is an obstacle course, adventure race with a Sprint (5km), Super (15km) or Beast (22km) distance that’s going to transform Punchestown in Co. Kildare into a warrior gauntlet on May 27th 2018.

We’re looking for Spartans to Join Our Team for this event on May 27th and fundraise for Patient Care in the Mater Hospital.

If you join our team, you and your friends will be hurling yourself over challenges and overcoming obstacles to raise funds for patients in the Mater Hospital, helping provide essential, hospital equipment like new Patient Beds, Chemotherapy Pumps, Vital Signs Units and Patient Monitors. All your hard miles will help making a patient’s life easier in the Mater.

While you’re doggedly jumping over walls, climbing under nets and hauling yourself up ropes, you’ll be helping someone else get their compassion, care and medical attention they need to overcome their own challenge.

Choose the Mater Foundation as your charity for SPARTAN RACE IRELAND, and make an important and needed difference to Patient Care in the Mater Hospital.

RUNAMUCK, a 5/11 km mud fun run in Coolcarrigan Estate, takes place on March 10th this year.

We’re looking for Muckers going to Runamuck to Join Our Team and fundraise for Patient Care in the Mater Hospital.

If you join our team, you and your friends will be going through all that muck for Life-saving equipment like Chemotherapy Pumps, Vital Signs Units and Mobile Heart Monitors or Ground Breaking Medical Research. It’ll mean no hesitation, diving head first into the course and clambering over obstacles because it’s for a great cause.

While you’re doggedly working through 5/11km jumping over bales, climbing under nets and hauling yourself up ropes, you’d be changing people’s lives as they undergo treatment in hospital. There is a patient that needs your support and who you’ll help by being a Mucker and taking on pontoon bridges, dirty ditches and splashing through Coolcarrigan lake.

Choose the Mater Foundation as your charity for RUNAMUCK, and make an important and needed difference to Patient Care in the Mater Hospital.

CLONTARF HALF MARATHON is a great, fun day out on Saturday, July 7th with a DJ and cheering crowds at the finish line to keep you motivated! Entrants can run as a relay team and there is also a 5 mile option for people who’d prefer a shorter distance.

We’re looking for as many people as possible to Join Our Team for the Clontarf Half Marathon and raise funds for Patient Care in the Mater Hospital.

If you join our team, you and your friends will be sweating so patients in the Mater don’t have to, and every step you take will be for Life-saving equipment like Chemotherapy Pumps, Vital Signs Units and Mobile Heart Monitors or Ground Breaking Medical Research. It’ll mean that extra bit of motivation and that extra bit of joy at the finish line on a sunny day in July.

People like you will be using their hard miles training to make life easier for someone overcoming their own battle in the Mater, and you can join them and add your support. We’re counting on you to help us with a big challenge in raising funds for vital medical equipment as the Irish health sector faces a rise in demand on patient services ; we want to continue to provide the best possible care for people counting on the Mater.

So please choose the Mater Foundation as your charity for the Clontarf Half Marathon, and make a real and lasting difference to Patient Care in the Mater Hospital.

GAELFORCE WEST is an iconic adventure race which ranges around the mountains and fjord of Killary. It takes place on June 23rd this year.

We’re looking for runners and adventurers going to Gaelforce West to Join Our Team and help us raise funds for Patient Care in the Mater Hospital.

If you join our team, you and your friends will be taking on the mountain scree and wild bogland to help provide Life-saving equipment to patients of the Mater Hospital; equipment like Chemotherapy Pumps, Vital Signs Units, Mobile Heart Monitors and Syringe Pumps for Pain Medication.

While you’re doggedly working your way up muddy trails or kayaking across fjord waters, your hard miles will be making life easier for someone in the Mater. There is always a patient that needs your support and who you’ll help by taking on Gaelforce West as a fundraiser for the Mater Foundation.

Choose the Mater Foundation as your charity team for Gaelforce West, and make a real and lasting difference today to a patient overcoming their own challenge in the Mater Hospital.

Discover the lakes and mountains of Connemara whilst raising money for patient care in the Mater Hospital. If you’re on our team for the Connemarathon, every step you take will be making huge strides for someone’s medical progress as a patient.

The Connemarathon is often described as one of the world’s most scenic marathons. It’s also a serious challenge. The combination of a tough course with an untamed landscape is not one you’re likely to forget. But one way to guarantee its memorable is by Making Every Mile Mater.

We’re looking for runners of all abilities to join our fundraising team and make huge strides for people overcoming their own personal challenge in a hospital setting. The Mater Hospital provides specialist care to people from all over Ireland for spinal injuries, heart and lung transplants, breast and heart screening and cancer care.

We need your help this year to meet the challenges that increased demand on our patient services create. By joining our team, you will be taking on the dual challenge of the beautiful Connemarathon and the necessary medical equipment for our hospital; equipment such as Electric Patient Beds, Syringe Pumps for Pain Medication and Patient Monitors.

There are three distance options for our fundraisers:

• Half marathon, €65 : 13.1 miles/21 km, two tough hills
• Marathon, €70: 26.2 miles/42km, tough second half
• Ultra marathon: 39.3 miles/63km, covers both routes

Choose the Mater Foundation as your charity for the Connemarathon, and help make a lasting difference to patient care in the Mater.