The annual Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Ball will be taking place at The K Club, Straffan in Co. Kildare on Friday June 29th. This year’s ball is set to be another glamorous and spectacular occasion, with a great line up of entertainment in store on the night, and it will once again support the great work of The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation.
Regarded by many as one of the key social events of the summer the black tie charity ball is attended by many well-known faces from the worlds of sport, entertainment, business and horse racing.
The glamorous summer ball comes on the eve of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, and this is the 11th successive year that Dubai Duty Free have been the title sponsors of Ireland’s oldest horse race.
Since Dubai Duty Free selected The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation as its official charity in Ireland for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Ball, over €280,000 has been raised for the children’s charity which provided more than 17,500 hours of home nursing care for extremely sick children throughout Ireland last year alone.,
There is no shortage of fabulous entertainment in store for guests on the night. The Monica Loughman ballet troupe will perform a specially choregraphed dance tailored to the theme of the night, and the multi award-winning international dance group ‘Slide Step’ will also perform a stunning dance number alongside hip hop dance act XOD. Finally, Houseparty Boys will provide the musical entertainment at the end of the night to pull guests onto the dancefloor.
The MC for the Derby Ball will be racing personality Tracy Piggott who will speak to representatives of Dubai Duty Free and the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation. Later on, a live auction will take place with fabulous experiences and holidays up for auction including a VIP holiday to Dubai, courtesy of Dubai Duty Free and a behind the scenes exclusive tour to Ascot.
Speaking in advance of the event, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, Colm McLoughlin, said; “We are delighted to be supporting the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation once again this year as the work they do in helping children with life limiting conditions is truly amazing. It is a great celebration on the eve of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby and we are really looking forward to a spectacular event at The K Club.”
Supporting charities around the globe is a very important part of Dubai Duty Free’s connection with communities worldwide.
The US$1.5 million Dubai Duty Free Sports Complex was constructed at Lycée Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable in Haiti as they helped to rebuild the country following the earthquake in 2010, while the company has also assisted in restoring eyesight to more than 800,000 people in India and helped funding the rebuilding of an entire village of houses destroyed by a typhoon that struck the Leyte province in the Philippines following a typhoon in 2013.
The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation was established by Jonathan Irwin and his wife, Mary Ann O’Brien, in 1997 following the death of their own son, Jack, to ensure that the homecare service which was not available to the Irwin’s would be accessible to all families coping with the great challenge of caring for a sick child.
Speaking in advance of the ball, Interim Jack & Jill CEO, Carmel Doyle, said;
“We are so honoured to be the chosen charity for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Ball, one of the most glamorous and glitzy nights in the Irish fundraising calendar. Every €16 raised through this wonderful night will fund 1 hour of home nursing care for a sick child, plus giving their parents a little break from the constant demands of caring. We are so proud of and so grateful for this support from Dubai Duty Free and all the guests attending”.
To buy your ticket for the ball call Edelle Monahan at Jack & Jill on (045) 894538, email edelle@jackandjill.ie or contact Aileen O’Brien, O’Brien PR aileen@obrienpr.com (045) 407017. The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby will take place the following day, on Saturday 30th June at the Curragh Racecourse, Co. Kildare. The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival runs from Friday 29th June to Sunday 1st of July.
Imagery from last year’s event:
