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Rory McIlroy's £1m gift helped cancer centre provide 4,000 family breaks

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Daisy Lodge provides a peaceful, non-hospital environment located near the Mourne Mountains for families navigating pediatric cancer and grief. According to its 2025 year-end report, the Newcastle centre supported 962 individual families, handled 293 new referrals, and delivered 521 short breaks. The charity also supported grieving relatives, noting that 83 people under its care died from cancer last year. To widen this support system, the organization plans to open a second facility, Daisy Lodge Cong, in County Mayo.

Key points

  • The therapeutic centre delivers holistic support to families facing pediatric cancer diag…: The therapeutic centre delivers holistic support to families facing pediatric cancer diagnoses, ongoing medical treatments, and child bereavement.
  • A decade of operational data demonstrates sustained demand for therapeutic breaks, worksh…: A decade of operational data demonstrates sustained demand for therapeutic breaks, workshops, and complementary care services.
  • The charity is actively working to expand its dedicated support model by establishing a s…: The charity is actively working to expand its dedicated support model by establishing a second location in County Mayo.

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Rory McIlroy loves to win. The Northern Irish golfer has four major titles, and he has never pretended otherwise. But his idea of winning goes beyond the golf course. For McIlroy, success also means making a difference in the lives of others. That’s exactly why he donated £1 million to help establish Daisy Lodge, a therapeutic short-break centre in Newcastle, County Down, for children with cancer and their families. The centre, which started as a place of support for families facing difficult times, has now grown into something much bigger. Ten years after opening, Daisy Lodge had provided more than 4,000 therapeutic short breaks, helping families spend time together away from the demands of hospital appointments and cancer treatment.

Daisy Lodge

People go on holidays to picturesque places. But Daisy Lodge, set against the Mourne Mountains in Newcastle, County Down, was built for a different purpose. It was created for the hardest weeks a family can face. The therapeutic short-break centre has spent a decade giving families a quiet place to rest, talk and be together.

The Cancer Fund for…

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