Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Clare Sports Stars Pedal For Charity

Some of Clare’s best-known sporting personalities will participate in a 90km cycle through the Burren next month.

Former Clare All Star Seamus Clancy as well as Clare hurlers, Brendan Bugler, Gerry O’Grady and Tony Griffin, will join an estimated 50 cyclists during the October 10th event. Event organisers hope to raise in excess of €5,000 for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland and TLC - Tipperary Limerick Clare - for Cystic Fibrosis.

The charity cycle will get underway at Corofin where the cyclists will be seen off by Mayor of Clare Councillor Tony Mulcahy and Minister of State Tony Killeen, T.D. The cycle will continue on through Ennistymon, Lahinch, Liscannor, Doolin, Fanore and Ballyvaughan, before finishing up at Kilnaboy.

Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, formerly known as The Peter Bradley Foundation, enables people with Acquired Brain Injury to live an independent life in the community by providing and maintaining a supportive living environment. Acquired Brain Injury Ireland strive for excellence in the provision of services to people with Acquired Brain Injury and their families, to enable them to maximise potential within their communities.

TLC for Cystic Fibrosis was established to lobby for the provision of a wide range of services to the Cystic Fibrosis community in counties Tipperary, Limerick and Clare. The organisation’s primary aim is to enhance the services being provided for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, which presently services Cystic Fibrosis unit services in Clare, Limerick and Tipperary, and a number of patients from Kerry.

TLC for Cystic Fibrosis is lobbying for the construction of a specialised Cystic Fibrosis Outpatients Unit, providing five treatment rooms at the Mid-West Regional Hospital. It is also seeking the provision of nine high-specification inpatient rooms dedicated to Cystic Fibrosis Sufferers, which will help reduce the risk of acquiring unnecessary life threatening infections. At present there are 78 Cystic Fibrosis paediatric patients and 50 adult patients attending the clinic. Adult patient figures are continuing to increase as the life expectancy for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers improves.

Cystic Fibrosis is Ireland's most common life-threatening and genetically inherited disease. Ireland has the highest proportion of Cystic Fibrosis sufferers in the world.

For more on the Burren charity cycle email diarmuid.killeen@gmail.com