PHOTOS Donal Walsh Foundation donate to Milford Hospice

Exactly halfway through her 242km Trek2Tralee fundraiser journey from Mayo to Tralee, 2014 Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh stopped off  in Limerick where Elma Walsh made an amazing €40,000 Milford Hospice donation on behalf of the Donal Walsh #LiveLife Foundation.

 Speaking to Elma who now carries her son’s mental health awareness and anti-suicide messages she said: “Today we have the pleasure of giving €40,000 to Mildford Hospice from the Donal Walsh Foundation. In the foundation we don’t ask anybody for money, people have given us money from various different fundraising events so there was quite a bit of money building up from Limerick school fundraisers, Munster Rugby and the Adare Manor golf fundraiser which raised €20,000. We have given €5,000 to Pieta House and €5,000 to Console Limerick and now it is the Hospice’s turn. Donal’s foundation was set up because people sent us so much money and because Donal spoke out on television about hospice care and mental health so they are the issues we follow up on.” Speaking about Donal, Elma continued: “Donal was just a normal young fella in all honesty and when he was 12-years-old he got cancer in his leg and he fought it very well for three years but unfortunately after that it came back in the lung and a short while later it became terminal. He knew that his would be a short life here, he was terminally diagnosed in October 2012 and he lived until May 2013. Before he went, he was on television as he was invited on by Brendan O Connor and it was there that he spoke out on his platform about his anti-suicide message and the care facilities in hospitals and hospice’s and he wanted them improved for teenagers especially, he was an ordinary 16-year-old boy who saw the devastation suicide caused to families and he wanted to try and stop that.”

“The foundation is primarily to help teenagers. We are giving this money to Milford Hospice because they are doing and extension and we want to make sure there is going to be a teenage section included for ill teenagers who come to Milford for care.”

The 2014 Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh was on hand to support Elma and the Donal Walsh #LiveLife Foundation with their donation. Her last project of her year as Rose of Tralee is a Trek 2 Tralee event where she will be running, cycling and walking 242 kilometres to raise funds for three worthy Irish charities, the Donal Walsh #LiveLife Foundation, Barretstown and Development Perspectives.

Photos by David Woodland for I Love Limerick. All Rights Reserved.