Colm Cussen will go around the Ring of Kerry to fight against cancer

Colm Cussen will cycle the Ring of Kerry which is a 179 km route around County Kerry.

Colm Cussen will go around the Ring of Kerry to fight against cancer

By I Love Limerick Correspondent Tara Byrne

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Colm Cussen (pictured above) is the Managing Director at ABS Engineering Control Systems Ltd. Photo Martina Regan

Colm Cussen from Newcastlewest, Limerick has set up a GoFundMe where he and his colleagues at ABS Engineering Control Systems Ltd, Mahoonagh will cycle the Ring of Kerry to raise money for Breakthrough Cancer Research. So far, they have raised €1,375 of the €4,000 goal.

The Ring of Kerry is a 179-kilometre-long circular tourist route in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. Clockwise from Killarney, it follows the N71 to Kenmare, then the N70 around the Iveragh Peninsula to Killorglin – passing through Sneem, Waterville, Cahersiveen, and Glenbeigh – before returning to Killarney via the N72.

Cancer has touched all of the lives of those taking part, in particular, Colm who lost his beautiful wife Mairead three years ago to lung cancer. Colm and Mairead have two girls Ellie and Lucy and would like to express their gratitude to the care Mairead received by setting up this fundraiser to raise money to help in the fight against cancer.

Colm said, “I never knew much about cancer until my wife Mairead was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Even when we were told that we had it in our heads that we could beat this together. Little did we know of the challenge we faced and what we would experience as a young couple together with two little young girls deciding to keep this horrible disease from them”.

“Mairead was so happy and such a scut at times, loved the craic and life and adored her kids and family. People don’t tell you how it will be after the death of a loved one, trying to explain to your little girls what all this means and why it happened to mom. For a while, my kids blamed themselves saying they might have been bold and that’s why God took mom and then after that the anxiety of losing dad becomes a bigger issue. Long story short cancer affects everyone even when we set this GoFundMe page, forty-five minutes later a work colleague just found out his mom has cancer… forty-five minutes. We need to support this cause,” he added.

Breakthrough Cancer Research is working hard to make people’s family, friends and communities across Ireland have access to the best treatments for cancer and never have to hear the words, there is no hope.

They are an Irish medical research charity focused on cancer. They work to significantly impact the number of children and adults who can survive this disease. They invest in world-class research in Ireland to impact the quality of life for cancer patients and save lives and are particularly focused on improving outcomes for those cancers, which are poorly served by current treatment options.

Colm has been training every second night for the last month of May. He is being supported by his friends, family, work colleagues and his partner Joanne. After completing a major surgery of spinal fusion in February of this year, this will be a major challenge for Colm and all donations are greatly appreciated.

To donate to this fundraiser go HERE 

For more fundraising stories go HERE