There’s a charity ball going on in Donegal tonight and it’s for 19 year old Alan Doherty.  Guest of honour is Bertie Ahern. Alan suffers from a rare disorder called otocephaly and was born without a chin and lower jaw. When he was born, his parents were told that his chances for survival were slim. He had to breathe through a tube in his throat.

He did survive and tonights ball is the latest in a series of fundraising events that have taken place in Donegal raising funds to pay for Alan’s medical treatment.

Get this. In 11 months, the people of Donegal raised over €600,000 towards medical expenses and they are still going strong.

Alan himself has already gone through several operations since October last year and has faced a number of setbacks but he still maintains his optimism and good spirits.

Raising that amount of money for a local cause is absolutely phenomenal, so hats off to team Alan. They are truly deserving of an entry on Ireland’s Real Rich List.

I’ve been thinking about something like this for some time now. A real rich list. I’m thinking about the people and stories that just don’t make the news very much, if it all.

Take the piece from the Irish Times on Easter Saturday. It was in the Thinking Anew section of the paper, under the letters page. Probably not a section anyone would read very much. The story told there was of a man called Jamie.

Jamie was diagnosed with cancer seventeen years ago. He wasn’t given a long time to live. He was even annointed as his death was expected at any moment. He recovered and lived for another 17 years.

Jamie decided that he wanted to give thanks to those who had cared for him while he was in hospital. He organised a 30 km walk from Castlegregory in West Kerry to Tralee. In the seven years that the walk took place, he raised more than €100,000 for the oncology department at Kerry General Hospital.

The walk became an event in the West Kerry calendar, with 100 walkers or more taking part. Every year, Jamie was out front leading the way, on his horse and cart.

“Jamie was a man who was all about giving and never taking. He died three weeks ago. He was not a famous person. His obituary would never feature in the national newspapers. In the eyes of the world, there was nothing ‘important’ about Jamie. Yet his funeral attracted one of the biggest crowds ever seen at a funeral Mass in Castlegregory church. The reason for this was because people saw the pure and straight goodness in this small man”.

I think the story of Jamie illustrates what Ireland’s Real Rich List is all about. It’s the opposite of the Sunday Times Rich List and the bling bling culture.

I would love you to pass this story on to someone you know and if they come across a similar story or something that has happened to them, please submit it via the Talk to Le Craic page.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a massive fund raising effort. It can be something as simple as a random act of kindness someone did for you at work, good service at a business, or someone that inspires you for whatever reason.

The Real Richline is open… Talk to le craic.