MJM Group, a cruise interior outfitter, announced today that it has raised £160,000 for a number of local and national charities.  

The cruise ship fit-out specialist turned the historic refit of the Azamara Pursuit into a fundraising extravaganza by partnering with Azamara Club Cruises, and EY Entrepreneur Of The Year, to organise a mini-cruise and auction onboard the ship. 

MJM Group Chairman, Brian McConville, who is an Alumnus of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program, joined forces with EY and Azamara Club Cruise to host a mini-cruise to which he invited other EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Alumni, stakeholders, family and friends. The end result has been £160,000 raised for causes nominated by the three partners, according to a statement. 

The three key recipients are Cuan Mhuire, an all Island addiction treatment centre with facilities close to MJM Group’s headquarters in Newry; Pieta House, an all island treatment centre for people who are suicidal or self-harming, EY’s charity of choice for the year; and Mercy Ships, an international development organisation that deploys hospital ships to some of the poorest countries in the world. 

The McConville family also wanted to support several local organisations with smaller donations including the chosen charities of the three core businesses in the family group – PIPS Hope and Support in Newry, MJM Group’s Charity of the Year; Clic Sargent, Mivan’s Charity of the Year; and the RLNI, Topglass Charity of the Year. The family also supported Tinylife and local Gateways- Carcullion Gateway in Hilltown and Newry Gateway.

Brian McConville said: “We have been blown away by the response to this event and the generosity of all our guests.  I would like to thank our partners, EY for giving us access to their alumni and particularly the Azamara team, Captain and Crew for allowing us to run this phenomenal event. I would also like to thank all those who generously donated and took part in the auction providing or purchasing prizes. We wanted to do something exceptional in our 35th year, and we did. It was an extremely memorable event and it is fantastic that the legacy of this event will be felt in our community for a long time to come through this sum of money.”

Richard Twynam, CEO Azamara Club Cruises, UK and Ireland said: “We were honored to work alongside MJM Group in making this event happen. It was a huge success, and our chosen charity Mercy Ships is such a worthy cause. Mercy Ships has a commitment from a benefactor to match funds raised this year, so the total is going to be doubled and this will make a big difference to the amazing work that Mercy Ships does around the world.”

Kevin McLoughlin, Partner Lead for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year said: “When Brian approached us about this idea we were on board immediately. Many of our Alumni are heavily involved in charity work and giving back to their communities, so we knew it was something that they would get behind. It was a fantastic way to raise money for Pieta House and the other charities. The huge amount of money that was raised will make a real difference to a lot of lives, we are extremely proud to be part of that. On behalf of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Alumni community, I’d like to thank Brian, MJM Group and Azamara for allowing us to be part of something so special.”

Photo: Nine local and national charities were the recipients of £160,000 which was raised by MJM Group who organised a Charity Cruise on board the Azamara Pursuit following it’s historic refit in Belfast. MJM Group were supported by Azamara Club Cruises and EY Entrepreneur Of the Year. The charities who benefited from the money are Cuan Mhuire, Pieta House, Mercy Ships, PIPS Hope and Support, Clic Sargent, RNLI, Tinylife, Carcullion Gateway in Hilltown and Newry Gateway. Pictured at the cheque presentation event are (l to r) Rob Heron, Partner Lead for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Programme, Brian McConville, Chairman MJM Group, Sr Consilio, founder of Cuan Mhuire, Eamonn Duignan, Head of Finance for Pieta House, Charlene Cree, Corporate Partnership Manager for Mercy Ships and Gary Annett, CEO MJM Group.