By Ed Forry

Our Galway correspondent, Larry Donnelly, contacted me this month to introduce Sharon Fitzpatrick, the development director for COPE Galway, a social services agency in that city.  “She is eager to establish relationships with Irish Americans in Boston and New York,” Donnelly told me, “Specifically those with ties to Galway and the west of Ireland – and to raise money for the good work that they do.

“Sharon is planning to travel over the next month and is keen to meet with as many potentially interested people as possible. I am not sure what might be possible, but it is a worthy cause.”

Said Fitzpatrick: “COPE Galway has been providing homeless, domestic abuse and senior support services to the people of Galway since the 1970s.  The demand for services has grown significantly over the past decade and this is likely to continue as we support our community in dealing with the social impacts of the pandemic.

 As is the case with many non-profit organizations, Fitzpatrick said, “funding is an ongoing and ever-present challenge for us. We would like to reach out to Galway’s diaspora in the US, focusing on Boston and New York initially, with a view to building relationships and finding ways in which Irish Americans could connect with and support our work.

“As a first step, we would like to establish a COPE Galway Boston Advisory Board of influential Irish Americans who would work in partnership with us in giving advice and making recommendations as to how best to approach this work.”

Located on the Tuam Road in Galway, the agency can be contacted by phone, at  091778750 , or by email  at info@copegalway.ie. For a brief YouTube video about the agency, visit tinyurl.com/48ff5utr.