Nearly 69-years-old and a semi-retired tractor mechanic, before the start of December each year John Holohan closes his workshop and doesn’t open it again until the new year. John is not on holidays, taking it easy in preparation for Christmas or even visiting family. He is off around the country completing a very charitable mission.
You see, because Santa Claus is so busy in the North Pole preparing for his trip around the world on Christmas Eve, he has asked John to be his helper in raising money for boys and girls who have to spend the festive period in Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
In order to garner the funds, Santa gave John his express permission to dress up like him and go meet the children of Ireland. John spends 1-24 December travelling nonstop around the country visiting schools, streets and businesses. In a day, John could visit up to four different places and throughout a weekend could go up to Dublin, down home again to Kilkenny and west to Galway and Clare.
John Holohan. \ Claire Jean Nash
Last year, John, whose campaign is called Santa for Charity, raised no less than €56,000. Santa for Charity is now in its sixth year of fundraising for Temple Street on Santa’s behalf. John is from Urlingford in Co Kilkenny and is originally from a farm. Over 50 people help John out during his tour of the country, something he is very grateful for, and often they joke that he is over ambitious.
“Last year, we had a presentation night in January and some of the boys were talking. One of them said: ‘Did you hear what his target is for next year?’ The reply was: ‘Oh God, I don’t want to know,’” laughs John.
“It’s going up roughly €10,000 every year. When we started out we raised €16,000, the year after was €23,000, the year after that we had a bit of a job getting it to €30,000, then it went to €43,000 and €56,000 last year. People know well we will be trying to push it over €60,000 this year. If it happens, it happens.
“I know some people would be saying: ‘Do you not realise that a time will come when you are not going to collect more than you did the previous year?’ I say: ‘We’ll wait ’till it happens to worry about it.’ You set goals and if it works, it works. If it don’t, it don’t.”
John Holohan. \ Claire Jean Nash
Sleigh bells ring
When John was initially asked to take on this challenge by Santa, his first port of call was to his daughter, who lived in Dublin at the time, to help him find a decent Santa suit. After that, he and those helping him needed to locate a sleigh, which was borrowed from a man in Offaly for the first year of Santa for Charity.
The next year, in 2013, after some deliberation it was decided they would build their own sleigh, which is still in use today.
“The lads got on to me and said: ‘Sure will we build our own sleigh?’ I said: ‘Sure what do you want to be building a sleigh for and we’re getting one for nothing.’ Anyways, for a quiet life I agreed with them.”
A car was donated by a scrapyard in the locality. The sleigh was constructed around this. Although the car looked a little worse for wear initially, John and his friends had it transformed in no time.
“There was a good battery in it. Believe it or not, the same battery is still in it today. I came home, I threw a gallon of petrol into it. The man that was with me gave her a try and up she fired.
“I had to pump the wheels then before we could move it. We tried everything, everything worked and it’d pass an NCT the way we got it. The cables, breaks, hand breaks, everything was 100%.”
John Holohan. \ Claire Jean Nash
It took five weeks, working every night, to build the sleigh, and in the end it was ready just in time for the beginning of December. Of course, a sleigh is no good without a reindeer, so a life-size and very lifelike fiberglass one was brought over from Birmingham on the ferry.
And, to give the very many people he meets an authentic Santa experience, John grows his beard all year before shaving it off on Christmas Eve and starting again.
“Even going to mass, the whole year round, young children are staring at me,” he smiles. “Even when I’m on a foreign holiday, I could be going down a prom or that and children are tripping over themselves looking back at me.”
People are very generous in donating to Santa for Charity every year, says John, and the marathon tour he takes around the country each December is something he really and truly loves.
“I enjoy doing it and it’d be the adrenaline that would keep you going. When ’tis all over you’d nearly lie down. You’d be relieved and you’d miss it like. I reared seven of them here and none of them had to use Temple Street, so that’s one good reason for doing it as well.”
For more information on where Santa for Charity will be visiting in the coming days and to make a donation, see www.santaforcharity.com
Read more
Listen: Forgotten Christmas traditions
A twist on Christmas traditions
Nearly 69-years-old and a semi-retired tractor mechanic, before the start of December each year John Holohan closes his workshop and doesn’t open it again until the new year. John is not on holidays, taking it easy in preparation for Christmas or even visiting family. He is off around the country completing a very charitable mission.
You see, because Santa Claus is so busy in the North Pole preparing for his trip around the world on Christmas Eve, he has asked John to be his helper in raising money for boys and girls who have to spend the festive period in Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
In order to garner the funds, Santa gave John his express permission to dress up like him and go meet the children of Ireland. John spends 1-24 December travelling nonstop around the country visiting schools, streets and businesses. In a day, John could visit up to four different places and throughout a weekend could go up to Dublin, down home again to Kilkenny and west to Galway and Clare.
John Holohan. \ Claire Jean Nash
Last year, John, whose campaign is called Santa for Charity, raised no less than €56,000. Santa for Charity is now in its sixth year of fundraising for Temple Street on Santa’s behalf. John is from Urlingford in Co Kilkenny and is originally from a farm. Over 50 people help John out during his tour of the country, something he is very grateful for, and often they joke that he is over ambitious.
“Last year, we had a presentation night in January and some of the boys were talking. One of them said: ‘Did you hear what his target is for next year?’ The reply was: ‘Oh God, I don’t want to know,’” laughs John.
“It’s going up roughly €10,000 every year. When we started out we raised €16,000, the year after was €23,000, the year after that we had a bit of a job getting it to €30,000, then it went to €43,000 and €56,000 last year. People know well we will be trying to push it over €60,000 this year. If it happens, it happens.
“I know some people would be saying: ‘Do you not realise that a time will come when you are not going to collect more than you did the previous year?’ I say: ‘We’ll wait ’till it happens to worry about it.’ You set goals and if it works, it works. If it don’t, it don’t.”
John Holohan. \ Claire Jean Nash
Sleigh bells ring
When John was initially asked to take on this challenge by Santa, his first port of call was to his daughter, who lived in Dublin at the time, to help him find a decent Santa suit. After that, he and those helping him needed to locate a sleigh, which was borrowed from a man in Offaly for the first year of Santa for Charity.
The next year, in 2013, after some deliberation it was decided they would build their own sleigh, which is still in use today.
“The lads got on to me and said: ‘Sure will we build our own sleigh?’ I said: ‘Sure what do you want to be building a sleigh for and we’re getting one for nothing.’ Anyways, for a quiet life I agreed with them.”
A car was donated by a scrapyard in the locality. The sleigh was constructed around this. Although the car looked a little worse for wear initially, John and his friends had it transformed in no time.
“There was a good battery in it. Believe it or not, the same battery is still in it today. I came home, I threw a gallon of petrol into it. The man that was with me gave her a try and up she fired.
“I had to pump the wheels then before we could move it. We tried everything, everything worked and it’d pass an NCT the way we got it. The cables, breaks, hand breaks, everything was 100%.”
John Holohan. \ Claire Jean Nash
It took five weeks, working every night, to build the sleigh, and in the end it was ready just in time for the beginning of December. Of course, a sleigh is no good without a reindeer, so a life-size and very lifelike fiberglass one was brought over from Birmingham on the ferry.
And, to give the very many people he meets an authentic Santa experience, John grows his beard all year before shaving it off on Christmas Eve and starting again.
“Even going to mass, the whole year round, young children are staring at me,” he smiles. “Even when I’m on a foreign holiday, I could be going down a prom or that and children are tripping over themselves looking back at me.”
People are very generous in donating to Santa for Charity every year, says John, and the marathon tour he takes around the country each December is something he really and truly loves.
“I enjoy doing it and it’d be the adrenaline that would keep you going. When ’tis all over you’d nearly lie down. You’d be relieved and you’d miss it like. I reared seven of them here and none of them had to use Temple Street, so that’s one good reason for doing it as well.”
For more information on where Santa for Charity will be visiting in the coming days and to make a donation, see www.santaforcharity.com
Read more
Listen: Forgotten Christmas traditions
A twist on Christmas traditions
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