Mr Gay Ireland 2010

Marcus Wynne, Mr Gay Ireland 2010

The Mr Gay Ireland 2010 competition was held during autumn of last year and, for the third year in a row, the finalists fundraised for St. James’s Hospital. Nationwide heats culminated in a spectacular final held in Dublin on Sunday, October 25th. The sum of the funds raised by the 22 finalists amounted to almost €16,000 and was given to St. James’s for the benefit of HIV / Aids patients.

The specific service for which the Mr Gay Ireland production fundraises is the Newfill Clinic.  Newfill is a new reconstructive treatment that combats the effects of the antiretroviral medicine used to treat HIV – the medicine causes loss of facial fat and subsequent facial wastage and is accompanied by distress and reduced quality of life. The nurses who administer the service testify to the treatment’s possibility to improve facial appearance, reduce anxiety and enhance patients’ daily lives – and they say that it has been proven that it improves patients’ adherence to therapy.

St. James’s Hospital is the only facility in Ireland that provides this service at no cost to patients – but has no public funding for the service, which now depends entirely on private donations. Mr Gay Ireland 2008 contributed €9,500 and funded 27 treatments. Mr Gay Ireland 2009 contributed €19,100 and funded 54 treatments. Not only does the production give financially to the hospital but it also succeeds in raising the profile of issues in connection with HIV / Aids. The hospital and Foundation are deeply grateful for the continuing support of the Mr Gay Ireland production.

St. James’s Hospital is the largest hospital in Ireland and it provides the largest treatment centre for HIV and sexual health in Ireland – more than 26,000 outpatients attended Genital Urinary Medicine and Infectious Diseases clinics at St. James’s in 2008 – more than 2,000 of whom were HIV positive.

Contact Us

St. James’s Hospital Foundation
St. James’s Hospital
James’s Street
Dublin 8

Telephone 01 428 4086
Email foundation@stjames.ie