A dragon’s den on the Aran Islands is to go under the hammer in the run up to Christmas with every cent raised going to put deposits on homes for up to 20 families currently living in emergency accommodation.
Dragons' Den star and tech entrepreneur Barry O'Sullivan is the man behind the unique property auction at which his six-bedroom holiday home on Inishmore will be sold.
All the proceeds – including the auctioneer’s commission – will be diverted to Focus Ireland and the Galway homeless charity Cope and used to fund the purchase of homes for people in need.
The auction, which takes place in Galway City on December 16th, is the showcase promotion of a new Home from Home campaign involving both charities that will focus on encouraging wealthy individuals to donate properties or funds to support the provision of homes to the homeless.
“I bought the house at the top of the market to be honest,” Mr O’Sullivan said. “I think I paid around €500,000 for it and I must have spent another €250,000 doing it up. I think it is a lovely house and I have always loved the wildness and the unique culture of the islands but as a family we have been spending more and more time away from Galway and in the United States.”
Last year he started working with Focus Ireland on a homeless currency project that came out of Dragons' Den which was when he heard of the Home from Home project.
He told his wife about it and she suggested they donate their home on the island. “I agreed to do it on condition of anonymity but I was pushed to make it public to maybe convince other high net-worth people to do something similar,” he added.
‘Real bargain’
The property, which is being sold by Galway auctioneers O’Donnellan & Joyce, has an advised minimum value of €300,000. “I would say if anybody gets it at that price they will be getting a real bargain,” O’Sullivan said.
When asked if she expected bargain hunters or people willing to spend a bit more because of the cause, Focus Ireland founder and life president Sr Stan said both types of bidder would most likely be at the auction. “You will always have the cute ones but you always have the generous ones too.”
She says she was “really surprised and absolutely delighted” when she heard about the donation. “It is absolutely wonderful and very generous. We can use a donation of €20,000 to leverage the purchase of one home and this contribution will be able to see us provide homes to 15 or 20 families. It will also give a great example to people who might consider doing the same thing.”
The charities will fund the remaining cost of the houses through Government grants and mortgages. All the homes will remain in the ownership of the charities, with the people who need them renting the properties.
Head of Cope Galway Jacquie Horan was equally effusive. “It is quite amazing,” she said. “In Galway at the moment we have 35 families living in emergency accommodation and another 11 about to need emergency accommodation. That means there are 46 families and 133 children who are either homeless or about to become homeless and this kind of donation will make a huge difference to an organisation like ours.”
