PRESS RELEASE: 22/092026
Castlebar Rotary club sends help to Nepal flood survivors through 40-year friendship
Funds go directly to fellow Rotary volunteers on the ground, who buy and deliver what families need Members of the Rotary Club of Castlebar have contributed €1,500 to help families left homeless
by last month’s devastating flood in Nepal. It is part of a response by Rotary clubs across the island of Ireland that has so far raised €50,000+ towards a target of €50,000.
The flood tore through the Trishuli River Valley on 26 August after a collapse of rock and glacial ice near the border between Nepal and China. More than 1,400 people are confirmed dead across Nepal and Tibet, and many survivors are living in temporary shelters.
The Castlebar Rotary club’s contribution came from a fund members have built up over 3 years for exactly this kind of emergency, through events such as Golf am am, Table quizzes, raffles,
Film premieres etc. This meant the club could respond within days.
James Murray, President of the Rotary Club of Castlebar, said: “When we gathered for the first meeting of the new season on September 2nd at Garbo’s in Castlebar, the members present were firmly of the view that our club should contribute to Rotary International’s appeal for support for Nepal. “When we saw the devastation in Nepal, our members wanted to help, but they also wanted the reassurance that the support would reach people directly on the ground. Because Rotary Ireland has worked with the Rotary Club of Chitwan for decades, we know who is receiving the funds and how they are being used.
“I am very proud of our members, and deeply grateful to everyone in Castlebar who supported us.”
Help delivered by people who are already there
Rotary clubs in Ireland, north and south, have worked with the Rotary Club of Chitwan in Nepal for more than 40 years. Together they have delivered projects bringing clean water and sanitation, digital learning and solar-powered irrigation to communities there. Members of the Chitwan club have visited Ireland and attended the Rotary Ireland conference in Enniskillen.
That relationship shapes how this response works. Money given by clubs in Ireland is transferred by Rotary Ireland directly to the Chitwan club. Its 84 members are volunteers who live and work in the region. They visit the shelters, ask families what they need, buy supplies locally and deliver them in person. Rotary takes no administration costs. Apart from bank transfer charges, all of the money goes to relief.
On 3 September, Chitwan members made their first relief journey, a 22-hour trip to bring around US$4,000 worth of supplies to two shelters. They have since identified needs across ten shelters in the Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts, and funds from Ireland are being used to meet them.
Calodagh McCumiskey, International Chair of Rotary Ireland, said: This is Rotary Ireland’s first emergency response of this kind since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and it is possible because of friendships built over 40 years. Our colleagues in Chitwan tell us what is needed, and clubs across this island, from the smallest to the largest, have answered. Every club that has contributed should be proud.
Anyone in Mayo who would like to support the club’s Nepal response can contact James Murray on 087 6474999 or 999jamesmurray@gmail.ie.
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Rotary Club of Castlebar attends Rotary Conference 2026 in Cork
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife, Mary, were among those in attendance.
Lto R: Siobhan Murray, James Murray, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Mary Martin, Monica Joyce and Finian Joyce
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Rotary Media contacts
Local: James Murray, Rotary Club of Castlebar, 087 6474999,
jamesmurray@murrayambulance.ie
Rotary Ireland: Christopher Nial, District Public Image Chair, +353 85 852 4490
Notes to Press Editor
The Rotary Club of Castlebar was founded in 1977 and has 28 members. It meets In Garbo’s in the Mulroy Leisure Point Castlebar, usually on the evening of the first Tuesday of the month.
Recent local projects include Youth leadership presentations to 220 students at St Geralds and Davitt College Castlebar, and the recent Film Premiere primarily in aid of Safe Ireland Mayo.
New members are welcome: https://castlebarrotary.com/ Rotary in Ireland brings together people from every walk of life in 65 clubs across the whole island, in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It has been part of Irish life since 1913 and belongs to Rotary International, a network of 1.4 million members in more than 200 countries. www.rotaryireland.com
The Rotary Club of Chitwan has 84 members and is the largest of Nepals 163 Rotary clubs. It has partnered with Rotary in Ireland for more than 40 years, including on five Rotary Foundation Global Grant projects.
