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Friends to cycle to every GAA club in Limerick to raise money for charity

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4 years ago

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GAA Club Cycle – Four Limerick friends Alan Shire, Padraig Kelleher, Paul Kiely, Shane Fitzgerald are doing the cycle in honour of Pieta House

 

Friends to cycle to every GAA club in Limerick to raise money for charity

By I Love Limerick Correspondent Tara Byrne


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Four Limerick friends Alan Shire, Padraig Kelleher, Paul Kiely, Shane Fitzgerald plan to cycle to all 65 GAA clubs in Limerick over the space of one weekend in order to fundraise for Pieta House. They will be covering over 530km on their bikes during the Easter weekend – Friday, April 2 to Sunday, April 4.

They will begin in Fedamore on Good Friday at 8 am, then finish in Kilmallock that same day. They will continue their cycle on the Saturday in Effin and finish up that day in Templeglantine. Finally, they will begin their Easter Sunday in Mountcollins and round off the weekend back in Fedamore.

So far, the lads have raised nearly half of their €5,000 target and are very grateful to anyone who could make a donation.

The Fedamore locals said, “We chose Pieta House in order to raise the vital funds that they need and to raise awareness of the amazing work that Pieta House does”. They hope that their challenge and challenges similar to it can trigger a conversation or a request for help that could potentially save someone’s life. The friends hope to provide a message of hope and support to both someone who may be struggling and to those who listen and provide support.

Pieta House provides a professional one-to-one therapeutic service to people who are in suicidal distress, those who engage in self-harm, and those bereaved by suicide. All of their services are provided free of charge and no referral is needed. The friends have chosen to start the third day in the spirit of Pieta’s darkness into light by starting the day before dawn and reaching the highest point of the day three route by sunrise.

One of the group members, Padraig Kelleher said the idea came to him when he saw that one of the GAA clubs had released a map of all the GAA clubs in Limerick. Padraig says, “it’s always good to have a challenge and a focus”, and the idea of cycling to every club came naturally to him.

With all of the men playing at one point for Fedamore, the GAA is close to heart for them as during these dark times, the success of Limerick GAA has brought hope and joy into their lives. They urge, “This success is built on the community spirit that exists across the country. Every local GAA club serves as a reminder of a support structure in our community that many rely on during times of need.”

In order to comply with COVID-19 guidelines, the four will be taking part in the cycle alone and they would love everyone to support them from the safety of their homes.

To donate to the fundraiser go HERE 

For more fundraising stories go HERE 

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