Belfast's Black Santa thanks the thousands of people who donated as he reveals the total raised in this year's charity drive
The dean of Belfast has revealed how much has been gathered in the annual Black Santa charity drive, as he offered “a huge thank you” to the thousands who contributed.
Stephen Forde said that the tally from the 2025 effort stands at £140,000.
The Black Santa effort in 2024 had raised a total of £210,000.
However, £85,000 of the 2024 figure came in the form of a lump sum from Belfast Charitable Society, and once that one-off donation is subtracted, 2025 has been a more successful year to the tune of £15,000.
It was the 49th year of the annual Christmas appeal, run by the Church of Ireland.
Its name comes from the black garb worn by the dean of St Anne’s Cathedral, who stands on its steps all day from mid-December until Christmas Eve with a big barrel, collecting cash from passers-by.
More and more, though, the money comes electronically, either via the appeal’s website or via the card readers which he now carries.
"A lot of people will say 'I don't have any cash with me', to which I was always able to say 'we have a solution to that problem – here is our card machine,” he told the News Letter.
"We do still however have people who bring us their bags and their sweetie jars full of 10ps.
"We get quite a lot of change that comes to us, and that indicates the sort of preparedness people put into giving.
"Cash remains important, but cards are increasingly important.
"Certainly I'd say that electronic donations are rivalling the cash."
He said the annual donation level fluctuates, but the general trend has been upwards in the eight years since he's been leading the appeal.
The top year was still 2004 – the year of the Boxing Day tsunami.
The Black Santa appeal re-opened in the days after the disaster and ended up generating around £1m.
For dean Forde, aged 64, the appeal has meant manning the barrel from at least 9.30am to 4.30pm between December 12 and 24.
"Conditions were difficult,” he said.
"The weather wasn't wonderful – we had to contend with rain and wind, which is sometimes more difficult than cold.
"Layering is the way to deal with it, and each year there's a lady in Newtownards who knits me a special pair of Black Santa socks that arrive in the post at the beginning of December.
"The Anglican clerical cloak keeps you warm in the wind and absorbs a massive amount of rain as well."
He added: “The footfall in Donegall Street [outside the Cathedral] is not what it once was, partly because more people are working from home and partly because just the nature of Donegall Street has changed a little bit.”
But this year they had an additional collection point on the other side of the cathedral, facing St Anne's Square, with "a lot of people passing making their way to and from Christmas lunches and shopping".
He concluded: “In a situation where many charities are finding it difficult to maintain the level of giving, it's very pleasing that for the Black Santa appeal we were able to increase what we've brought in."
The £140,000 will be split among about 100 different charities.
The prime recipients will be the Motor Neurone Disease Association NI branch, as well as charities that support people with multiple sclerosis, and the work of Christian Aid in the east African nation of Burundi.