Everybody who has bought a daffodil on Daffodil Day - and who hasn't ? - has participated in one of the late Charlie Cully's schemes.
Charlie Cully, who died at his home in Co Wicklow on August 16th aged 66, never made a penny from the millions of pounds which Daffodil Day has brought in to the Irish Cancer Society.
He went to Canada in 1987, researched how it worked and came back and simply presented it to the society with which he had been involved since 1969.
This innovation was entirely typical of a man who moved through many spheres of life in Ireland, and especially in Dublin, and who brought an unfettered and fruitful entrepreneurial energy to many of them.
Much is made of the appearance of coffee shops in Dublin in recent years - but Charlie Cully opened his first coffee shop, the Hell Fire Club, in Chatham Street in the 1950s. That was followed by the New Amsterdam coffee shop around a couple of corners in South Anne Street.
It wasn't long before he returned to Chatham Street, this time with the Blue Lantern Steak House. He believed it to be the first steak house in Ireland.
This energetic Dubliner was born on May 23rd, 1935, to Mary Dorothea Wilson, who ran a financial company, and Denis Cully, who was in the Army and later worked for the ESB.
He attended St Michael's Preparatory School on Ailesbury Road and later Sandford Park in Ranelagh before going to Trinity College Dublin.
By the time he graduated from Trinity he had already started the Hell Fire Club coffee shop. He bought the Commercial Banking Company in the 1960s but retired from it after some years.
He married Margaret Foley, in 1964. Their home is at Manor Kilbride, Co Wicklow, where they quickly became extremely popular, and were well-known for their hospitality. Indeed they were said by some to be among the greatest hosts in the very hospitable county of Wicklow.
An aspect of their hospitality was their membership, for eight years, of the Hidden Ireland scheme, which offers visitors a chance to stay in private country houses and to experience an aspect of Ireland which they might not otherwise see. He was a keen gardener and he and Margaret restored the walled garden at their home, the Manor House. Last June, they held a millennium charity concert with a choir and quartet in the walled garden.
He started a farriery business from the refurbished outhouses at the Manor.
There are people who baffle the ordinary observer by how much they manage to do in a lifetime and Charlie Cully was certainly one of those.
Quite apart from his business interests and his work for the Irish Cancer Society and other causes, he was a gifted painter, musician and singer. He had studied singing and the piano in his youth and he sang often in his local church. Indeed he sang and played the piano at home every day.
He and Margaret were great supporters of the Dublin Grand Opera Society and regular attenders at the Wexford Opera Festival. Indeed their love of opera led them to travel far and wide. He was also a keen yachtsman with the Royal Irish Yacht Club, in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, although he did not own a yacht. His fundraising benefited many organisations and projects. They include the fine retirement home built by the Methodists in Sandymount and his local Church of Ireland church.
In 1969, he was invited by the then chairman of the Irish Cancer Society to join its finance and administration committee. His colleagues quickly recognised his ability to raise money and they did the sensible thing and made him honorary secretary of the committee.
He set to work with dedication and success. He heard about Daffodil Day from a Canadian friend and went to see how it worked there. He returned to Ireland with the plans for a similar day here. Daffodil Day now flourishes in every city, town and village in the State and it is safe to assume that it will do so for decades to come.
Not only has Daffodil Day brought in millions of pounds for the Irish Cancer Society but many other organisations have also taken up the idea. It is common now for charities to have "days" on which they sell flowers or other tokens to raise money - all owe a debt of gratitude to Charlie Cully's energy and enthusiasm.
As Prof Austin Darragh - a board member of the Irish Cancer Society - said this week, the fight against cancer has lost a unique and magnificent stalwart.
It might be added that the country has lost a lively and creative spirit and that his family and friends have lost from among their number one of their most warm-hearted and highly regarded members.
He is survived by his wife Margaret and four children, Jonathan, Marie-Helene, Simon and Amaya.
Charles Cully: born 1935; died August 2000