One of Galway’s best-known charities received a welcome fillip to funds recently with its selection as the big winner in the latest round of funding doled out by MedTech giants Medtronic in partnership with the Ireland Funds.

Croí, the west of Ireland cardiac and stroke foundation, was awarded the flagship €50,000 grant under the Medtronic ‘Mission Makers’ initiative – focused on supporting charities in Ireland to each deliver their own mission to improve lives by funding patient awareness activities.

In all, ten health initiatives, in areas including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and women’s health, are to receive a combined €100,000, benefitting more than 2,000 patients across the country.

Four other organisations will be granted €10,000 each, including Diabetes Ireland, the Dillon Quirke Foundation, the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) and the National Women’s Council of Ireland Education & Training (NWCI E&T).

Five additional health organisations – among them Cancer Care West and the Galway Sick Kids Foundation – have received €2,000 each to support their initiatives in areas such as asthma, bowel cancer, epilepsy and sepsis.

Croí, Chief Executive Mark O’Donnell said the charity was delighted to be awarded the Medtronic Mission Makers grant of €50,000 under the auspices of The Ireland Funds.

“This funding will underpin significant and wide-ranging heart health and stroke prevention activities to communities in 2025 using Croí’s mobile health units, working closely with the Medtronic team and providing many engagement opportunities,” he said.

Croí will use the €50,000 funding to provide heart health and stroke prevention services in underserved communities, and its newly commissioned state-of-the-art Mobile Health Hub will anchor three community health events in Galway and Athlone.

Health checks and information on disease prevention will engage 1,000 people in person and a further 8,000 digitally, creating a significant impact across the west of Ireland.

Among the other recipients, Diabetes Ireland will support four ‘Type 1 Diabetes Technology & Research Discovery’ events in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Derry, educating up to 600 people while the Dillon Quirke Foundation will offer free cardiac screenings to 75 young athletes aged 12-18 across sports clubs in Ireland on World Heart Day.

The Irish Cancer Society will host three ‘Your Health Matters’ roadshow events, and the National Women’s Council of Ireland Education & Training (NWCI E&T) will host a storytelling event on International Women’s Day.

Earlier this year Medtronic Ireland invited charities to apply for a Medtronic Mission Maker grant.

Following submissions, all applications were assessed by Medtronic employees and The Ireland Funds and following review and the completion of a due diligence process, ten successful organisations were selected.

Medtronic, headquartered in Galway, is the leading global healthcare technology company that aims to tackle the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions.

Pictured: Dr. Lisa Hynes, Head of Health Programmes/Health Psychologist, Croí; Robert O’Brien, Vice President Human Resources Global Manufacturing and Medtronic Ireland Country Leader and Christine Flanagan, Director of Fundraising, Croí Heart & Stroke Charity, at the announcement of the award.  Photo: Andrew Downes, xposure.