FOUR Donegal sisters have decided to put their family home up for grabs as the top prize in a raffle unlike any other you may have entered.
Johanne, Susan, Marcia and Dorothy Gallagher, known locally as the Gallagher girls, have entered the property into a prize draw – offering one lucky winner the chance to win a dream Donegal home, completely mortgage and finance free.
The prize also includes £50,000 in cash, the family told The Irish Post this week.
Located on approximately 1.59 acres between Dunkineely and Bruckless in south west Donegal, the property includes a farmhouse, with a modern extension and amenities, as well an adjoining second property that was previously used as a seasonal hostel and camping site.
A lush green paddock is located on one side of the propertyThe site, which offers incredible sea and mountain views, has been owned by the Gallagher family for a number of years, and was first bought by the women’s parents Ben and Lyndall Gallagher.
In the 1960s, Irishman Ben met his wife to be, Lyndall, at a dance in Sydney, Australia.
They started a relationship that would eventually lead to marriage, the birth of five daughters and a return journey to Ireland which brought Australian-born Lyndall to live permanently on the other side of the world.
The vast property also comes with a hostel and campsite facilities and a walled gardenBen and Lyndall fell in love with the property in Bruckless, Donegal where they would farm and bring up their family.
However, a serious spinal injury that Ben suffered in Sydney cut short his farming career and the couple set up a new business, converting the farm buildings on the property into a hostel and camping facilities.
Ben and Lyndall Gallagher on their wedding daySadly, Ben’s health problems continued and issues arose for Lyndall also.
Following treatment for breast cancer, Lyndall was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent an awake craniotomy in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital .
The couple were married just one week short of 50 years when Ben passed away in March 2018.
Lyndall sadly died eight weeks later.
It was a devastating loss for their daughters who have now decided the time is right to pass on the home, by putting it up as the prize for an online draw.
Sadly, Ben and Lyndall died within weeks of one other in 2018Along with the house and land, the prize also comes with the hostel and camping facilities, a walled garden and various outbuildings, plus the £50,000.
Tickets for the prize draw, which takes place at 11pm on May 14, cost £10 each.
The property offers both sea and mountain viewsThe family will donate five per cent of all proceeds made through the raffle to the Beaumont Hospital Foundation to thank the neurosurgery team at Beaumont Hospital for all their incredible work and for giving the family 18 additional precious months with their mother.
If all of the prize draw tickets are sold, the family will raise £35,000 sterling for the Foundation.
Entrants must be aged 18 or over to take part and tickets are available here.
