“This is what it’s all about,” said James Byrne, gesturing around him inside the RDS on Christmas Day as hundreds of people gathered around the hall, eating Christmas dinner and listening to a live band.
More than 200 volunteers cheerfully served a sit-in meal to homeless people, families in need and people who may have otherwise spent the day alone, at the 99th homeless meal event run by the Knights of St Columbanus.
“I come here every year. I just love the atmosphere, it’s great. I come to meet friends and different people of lots of cultures, religions, sexualities. We are all here to meet people and treat people as we want to be treated,” Byrne said.
Byrne, who was dressed in a red Christmas suit, sat at a table with his mother and his friend Michael McCabe, who was wearing a blue Christmas jumper. McCabe said he also comes to the event every year “for the atmosphere and to enjoy myself with new people and old friends at dinner”.
“It’s great fun, and we do get to be on RTÉ and in the papers,” McCabe said.
“I’ve been coming for a long time. When my mam was alive, I came with her. She died seven months ago. I miss my mother and father very much, but my friends here are helping me get through the day”.
More than 550 guests received a free three-course meal of soup, traditional Christmas dinner, Christmas pudding, refreshments and live entertainment.
Several musicians performed on stage throughout the morning and afternoon, and toys were provided to homeless children attending the dinner.
The Knights of St Columbanus provided free shuttle bus transportation for the guests to and from the RDS with pick-up points throughout Dublin city.
In addition, 5,500 takeaway Christmas dinners and Christmas puddings were delivered to the homes of people in need around Ireland, with the assistance of St Vincent de Paul, Simon, Alone, Age Action, Dublin City Council and other groups.
“The demand for the takeaway dinners increased significantly from 1,200 in 2012 to 5,500 this year, reflecting the difficulties experienced by families and the poor, especially if we consider how the housing cost in Ireland is becoming more and more expensive with a number of families that cannot afford to buy or rent a house,” a statement from the Knights of Columbanus said.
Volunteers on the day also packed “goody bags” with food, toiletries, soft drinks and household goods to distribute among the guests attending the dinner.
Trevor MacNamara, chairman of the Christmas day dinner committee, said the volunteers were “people who want to give back during Christmas without expecting anything in return but to bring a smile to those who live without a roof over their heads or the certainty of a stable income”.
Anne O’Reilly, from Leitrim, was volunteering for the first time and said the day was “really super”.
“I always wanted to do it. I just love helping out. I’ve been doing meals on wheels for a while and I wanted to help out with something over Christmas. I think it’s fantastic,” she said.
“I’ll be back home by three o’clock and I’ll still have my normal Christmas Day as well. I wanted to help because people can be very, very lonely at this time of year, but this is lovely for them,” she said as she poured beer into plastic cups for the guests.
“I’ve never poured a beer in my life before but I seem to have a knack for it,” she laughed.
“The day has been going very well, everyone’s happy and the RDS is a great venue for it because there’s so much space. It’s lovely interacting with so many different people and with the other volunteers.”
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