A number of well known sporting personalities will participate in a 90km cycle through the Burren in County Clare this coming weekend.All Star Clare hurler Tony Griffin, Dublin footballer Barry Cahill and former Clare All Star footballer Seamus Clancy will join an estimated 50 cyclists during Saturday’s event. Event organisers hope to raise in excess of EUR5,000 for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland and TLC - Tipperary Limerick Clare - for Cystic Fibrosis.
The charity cycle will get underway at Corofin GAA Pitch 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 returning to Corofin.
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.
Meanwhile, participants in the cycle are scheduled to appear on TV3’s Ireland AM programme this Friday morning. For more on the cycle see www.clarecyclechallenge.blogspot.com or email diarmuid.killeen@gmail.com
