Sarah raises nearly €5000 for IKA on a virtual journey by motomed to Gaelic grounds

Sarah O Sullivan pictured sitting in her motomed. 

Sarah raises nearly €5000 for IKA on a virtual journey by motomed to Gaelic grounds

By I Love Limerick Correspondent Mary Doyle

Sarah at the Gaelic grounds. 

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A 21-year-old woman from Askeaton, Limerick who has Cerebral Palsy has raised just under €5,000 for the Irish Kidney Association by travelling on her motomed for 58 kilometers, to represent the same distance to and from Limerick county’s Gaelic Grounds Páirc na nGael. Sarah O’Sullivan, a full-time wheelchair user, decided to undertake the virtual journey over seven days during the Covid 19 lockdown to raise organ donor awareness.

Sarah’s inspiration for undertaking the challenge was to honour the memory of her late cousin Jack Walsh who was 19 years old when he died tragically in Spain two years ago and saved four lives through organ donation. She also paid tribute to her late grandfather, Bobby Walsh, who passed away before she was born, and who underwent a kidney transplant in 1986.

Sarah was overwhelmed that her initial fundraising target of €200 was far surpassed when a far greater total of €4,970 was raised via the Just Giving online platform through donations from her family, friends, and supporters in her community who enthusiastically came behind the life-saving cause.

Sarah’s mother Bríd said, “Sarah is passionate about the sport including hurling and football and Munster rugby fan. Our family’s support for organ donation and the Irish Kidney Association goes back decades as my late father had a kidney transplant. Gaelic Grounds seemed like the obvious location for Sarah to choose for her virtual journey during the lockdown and the Irish Kidney Association was the obvious charity to fundraise for.”

“I am one of five siblings and we have a very close extended family and we all carry donor cards and all the children were brought up knowing that we supported organ donation. When they became teenagers, they opted to carry donor cards including their late cousin Jack. Sarah had a huge grá for her cousin Jack and they were the same age when he died. We all miss him terribly, but we all take heart in knowing that he saved the lives of four other people through organ donation. We are all very proud of what Sarah has done in Jack and her grandfather’s memory.”

Organ Donor Cards can be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association by Free texting the word DONOR to 50050.

The public can also support the work of the Irish Kidney Association and can Free text KIDNEY to 50300 to donate €4. Texts cost €4, Irish Kidney Association will receive a minimum of €3.60. Service Provider: LIKECHARITY. Helpline: 076 6805278.

You can also apply for a donor card HERE

 or download a free ‘digital organ donor card’ APP to your phone from HERE.  

They can also donate through the Irish Kidney Association’s website HERE

For more stories on the Irish Kidney Association see HERE

Sarah O Sullivan 

Sarah O Sullivan