Armagh’s phenomenal, fundraising farmer has spoken candidly of the heart-warming inspiration behind his almost £70,000 total for charity, upon receipt of nationwide recognition for his efforts.
George McCall, also known affectionately as ‘Geordie’, scooped the prestigious Community Hero Award the Spirit of NI awards in partnership with Ulster Bank.
Over the last year, the well known argicultural hand and cattle breeder has been busily fulfilling a promise to a dear relative, that he made to her in her final days.
This promise was made in earnest with beloved former St Catherine’s Grammar School teacher, June Humphries. June – who was George’s sister-in-law – regrettably lost her battle with cancer in March 2024.
Prior to June’s devastating passing, George had the misfortune of having endured his own struggles with the disease.
His diagnosis of a tumour on his liver actually came about as the result of a freak farming accident, where George suffered a “black out” and fell into a slurry tank on his yard.
Thankfully, his son – also named George – came to the rescue, pulling his father from the tank and alerting emergency services.
Speaking to Armagh I, George explained that in the lead up to that terrifying day, he had been taking intermittent black outs and when he informed the medical staff of his history, further exploratory testing was conducted. It was then the tumour was discovered.
Said George: “A consultant actually said to me, ‘You’re a very lucky man that fell in that slurry tank!'” A phrase that has most likely never been spoken before or since.
He underwent an operation in the Mater Hospital, Belfast to have the cancerous portion of his liver removed and thankfully, today all is well.
However, George reinforced that cancer, as a disease, has taken a terrible toll on his family… and on many others like his.
“We had seven of the close family that died with cancer,” he said. Then moving onto his final conversations with June, he added: “Before June died, we were going in every day to the hospital to see her and then she got home for a few days.
“She said to me, ‘I want you to look after me’. She asked me to organise her funeral and I said I would. But she kept saying, ‘And I want you to do something’. This kept going on for four or five days. She would take my hand and talk about her funeral and then say, ‘I want you to do something’ but she never told me what it was.”
In 2025, George had a moment of clarity. He declared to his wife and son, “We should do something for cancer.”
George explained that he and his family have built up a solid reputation for breeding pedigree cattle over the years. He proferred the idea that he could “give a heifer” to fundraising.
In agreement, his son suggested they take a heifer to auction in Ballymena. It was certainly a viable and sensible option, but George wasn’t fussed on the idea of an auction. He knew he might comfortably raise in the region of £4,000, given that the proceeds were for charity, but the heifer herself might not have been worth that much.
George Jr’s wife made the suggestion that instead of taking her to mart, they could try to raffle her off! “Fair play to you,” said George. “That’s what we’ll do!”
There was a little to-ing and fro-ing from an organisational standpoint. George had to secure a licence with Council, he had tickets to print and logistics to plan.
Once all the red tape had been tackled, he set about selling the tickets at £10 each – mostly door-to-door.
“It was hard to get motivated to sell the tickets,” he admitted. “But, I went one Saturday to a house and this girl – I knew her father well – but I didn’t know her. She gave me £10 and asked what motivated me to do this. I asked her what school she went to. She said, ‘St Catherine’s Armagh’.
“I told her the person who motivated me to do this taught in St Catherine’s and she died. She looked at me and said, ‘June Humphries’? She took the tenner back off me and handed me £20.
“She told me, ‘George, you go on up that road and I promise you, you’ll not be refused. I went to every door and everyone gave me something. I came home that night and I promise you, the next day I went out I had no bother!”
George said he saw that young lady again when the raffle was completed. He extended his hand to her as a thank you, she pushed it aside and hugged him.
He told the woman, “Thank you. You motivated me to keep going. You made me finish it and you were the inspiration and my drive to go on.”
When asked how much he raised in the raffle, George proudly announced, “I raised £67,465.”
The man who won the prize decided not to take the heifer, she stayed with George. In place of that prize, George sent the winner a cash prize of £2,500 from his own pocket, so as to protect the funds raised for the charity.
All monies raised were given to the Friends of Cancer Centre to help further the vital work they do, and in fond memory of those loved and lost.
While he’s blown away by the receipt of the Community Hero Award – which he dedicated to his son and nephew, Alan Humphries – George says none of it would have been possible without the immense generosity of the local community, and those further afield.
Recalling an example of this incredible generosity, George said: “I was at a wake and a man I know came to me and asked me if I had any tickets for the raffle. Truth be told, I never went anywhere without them, but on that day I didn’t have them on me. He said, ‘Well, I want you to call with me’.
“About a month passed, I forgot all about it but one day, I was heading that way and I thought I better stop with that man. I went to the door and his wife answered. He was away lambing but I was invited in to wait for him.
“When he came in then we sat and we had a chin wag. At the end of it all, he took out a chequebook. He said, ‘I’ll write you a cheque for these tickets’. I told him ‘Be sure you make that out to Friends of Cancer Centre’. I put it in my pocket and never even looked at it.
“I tell you I felt very humbled when I got home and saw what he had put on that cheque.” It was four digits.
He also recalled meeting a lovely woman in Milford when door-to-dooring with tickets and through the course of their conversation, they discovered they both hailed from the Seagahan area. They knew of one another’s families.
George discovered that this wonderful woman had too sadly felt the devastating effects of cancer, losing six loved ones from her own family. She was only too delighted to purchase tickets for the very worthy cause.
Throughout it all, George said he has seen the best of humanity and has enjoyed every second of fundraising. He also wished to express his sincere thanks to Rachael for nominating him for the Spirit of NI Awards.
He plans to get back out with another fundraiser at some stage – but still “just isn’t quite sure what way to go about it”. If you have any ideas to help inspire our city’s new Community Hero, we are sure he would be only too happy to hear them!
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