Leo Halpin – The incredible man at the heart of the Oldtown Community 

By Susan Foley, Communications Manager, National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh

ON Friday, January 26, my colleagues from the Cappagh Hospital Foundation (CHF) and I had the pleasure of visiting the Oldtown House in the charming village of Oldtown.

We were there to receive a cheque for a substantial sum of €22,500 fundraised by the Leo Halpin & Supporters Great Cappagh Walk.

We also received the warmest welcome from this beautiful community.

When I first met Leo in 2023, as an inpatient at the Hospital’s Centre for Rehabilitation, he was armed with photographs of past fundraisers and notebooks spanning 17 years cataloguing the names of supporters.

He’d turn through the pages, bringing the characters within to life and pause with reverence and sadness when he’d come upon the name of someone who had since passed.

In 2020, 2021 and 2022, Leo’s annual fundraiser was cancelled because of COVID-19; in 2023, he was more determined than ever the event would go ahead.

And at 81 years young, he wasn’t going to let a significant leg injury stop him!

Working with Leo has been an uplifting experience – he’s some man for one man.

I’m in awe of his passion, energy and purpose and his ability to inspire businesses, farms and communities to action.

The Tranquillity Garden for long-stay patients at the Centre for Rehabilitation will be named “Leo’s Garden” in his honour.

He has the support of a fantastic committee, who promoted the event, invited sponsorship, raffle prizes and donations, and chauffeured Leo to businesses and farms in pursuit of support when pain prevented him from driving.

During Friday’s festivities, I witnessed an outpouring of love for Leo.

This was not the first time that I had seen this, but despite his great achievements, Leo remains humble and avoids public speaking.

However, he did agree to some photographs on the night.

Fundraisers help CHF improve facilities and services, purchase equipment, finance research, and enhance education to benefit patients at the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh.

Monies raised from Leo’s Great Cappagh Walk 2023 will go towards two projects: (1) improving facilities and services for patients of the National Bone Tumour Centre and (2) building a Tranquillity Garden for long-stay patients at the Centre for Rehabilitation, which will be named “Leo’s Garden” in honour of this great man.

In a world overshadowed by negative news, Leo Halpin and the beautiful people of Oldtown and neighbouring communities are a beacon of hope.

They make the world a better place.

We are incredibly grateful for their unwavering and generous support of the Cappagh Hospital