10.12.2018
Dublin’s Black Santa Prepares for 2018 Sit Out
The 2018 Black Santa Sit Out at St Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, Dublin, will be launched this Thursday, December 13, at 1pm by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson and the Lord Mayor of Dublin. They will be joined by the Choir of Kildare Place National School.
The appeal will run outside St Ann’s right up until Christmas Eve with volunteers joining the Vicar, Canon David Gillespie, to collect funds for a wide range of charities.
This is the 18th year that the Black Santa Sit Out has been held in Dublin and in that time well over €600,000 has been raised for local good causes. All the charities supported by Black Santa do invaluable work and every cent donated to the appeal is divided among them. There are no administration charges and all the collectors give their time for free.
Among the charities to benefit from Black Santa in the past are Alice Leahy Trust, the Salvation Army, the Simon Community and the Peter McVerry Trust, all of whom work with people who are homeless. Other charities include Protestant Aid, Barnardos, St Vincent de Paul, the Laura Lynn Foundation and Solas Project. Cheques are distributed in St Ann’s in February at a special service which celebrates volunteers.
The St Ann’s team will be outside the church each day from 10am to 6pm collecting donations. This year they will be joined by a huge number of choirs who will sing festive songs and carols each lunchtime. These include Castleknock National School, St James Primary School, Francis Street CBS, St Stephens Church Choir, Catholic University School, Taney Parish Junior School, Alexandra College, Kildare Place National School, Cornucopia Brass Group, Irish Life Choir, Revenue Choir, AIB Choral Society, Permanent TSB Staff Choir, John Scottus School, Loretto College, Seafield Singers, Dublin Male Voice Choir, the Line Up Choir, Steadfast Band and the Brook Singers.
The Black Santa sit out is modelled on a similar appeal, which has been run by successive Deans of St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast for many years. It became known as the Black Santa appeal because of the long heavy black cloaks worn by the clergy to keep out the cold.