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Jean's not Claus-trophobic – with
2,100 Santas!
16.12.13
SOME people take just a
few hours putting up their Christmas decorations –
others do it in a day.
But one Greencastle woman has been bedecking her
house for the past 15 days and counting - all
be-Claus of her huge collection of Santas.
Grand-mum Jean Hegarty (65) has a whopping 2,100
Father Christmases to find room for in her festive
home at Crockaulin, Ballybrack.
She began her Santastic collection when she got
married 45 years ago and, lucky for her, husband
Hugo is not Claus-trophobic.
The jolly red fellas include fluffy Santas, chubby
Santas, thin Santas and wooden Santas and they
inhabit every corner of her home at Christmas time.
She also has Russian Doll Santas, ones in the shape
of teapots, cookie jars, pens, socks, hats and even
kitchen utensils. |
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Be-Claus it's Christmas: Greencastle
grand-mum Jean Hegarty who has a whopping collection
of some 2,100 Santas, dating back to 1968. |
Mum-of-two Jean says it
takes a ho, ho, whole lot of time displaying them
all but it’s always been part of the festive fun for
their children, Jacqui and Neil, and now their four
grand-children Aoibhe (9), Fionn (9), Hugh (6) and
Riley (2).
"I usually don't take them out until December 1 and
then it takes me about two to three weeks putting
them all up - with a few more tweaks right up until
Christmas Day," she beamed.
"It would take me a solid week taking them all down
again because I would be quite particular about
storing them – many still have their original
boxes."
The administration worker at The Museum of Free
Derry, first started her collection in 1968 with a
Santa-shaped Christmas tree decoration. More than
four decades later she has had to have a special
floor built in the attic to accommodate them all.
She amasses “at least” 10 new ones each year
including gifts from friends and family.
Last year, the country’s biggest Santa fan raised
almost 1,000 euro for the LauraLynn Foundation after
showing her collection publicly for the first time.
Funds raised this year will go to the same charity. |
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