South Tipp cyclists in Tour de Munster to raise funds for Downs Syndrome
A number of South Tipperary cyclists will be embarking on an arduous 640km tour of the highways and byways of Munster next week to raise funds to improve services for people with Down's syndrome.
Clogheen man Paddy O'Callaghan and his girlfriend Maura Buckley are taking on the four-day Tour de Munster challenge from next Thursday, August 12 to Sunday, August 15.
Two Ballyporeen cyclists Michael O'Gorman and Brian Flannelly will also be among the 130 cyclists whizzing through the five counties of Munster on the Tour that will be led by Carrick-on-Suir cycling legend Sean Kelly.
The tour will pass through Tipperary on its first day and Clogheen will be the first food stop for the cyclists. The route will take the cyclists from Cork City to Tallow and Lismore over the Vee to Clogheen and from there to Cahir, Tipperary, Birdhill and finish in Killaloe. On the second day, the tour will travel through Clare to Tralee and on the third day from Tralee to Kenmare. The final day route will take the cyclists from Kenmare through west Cork and back to Cork City.
Paddy, aged 32, said all the money raised from the cycle will be distributed to the six Munster branches of Down's Syndrome Ireland and most of it will be used to fund speech & language therapy for people with Down's syndrome, particularly children.
The carpenter from Main St., Clogheen has been spurred to take part in the charity cycle by the fact that his aunt Bridget Caplice has Down's syndrome. His aunt Bridget, who is originally from Burncourt, lives in a house with several other people with disabilities in Dungarvan and attends a workshop in the town daily.
Paddy said it was important that Down's Syndrome Ireland raised as much money as possible from the Tour de Munster as services for people like his aunt Bridget are under great pressure due to government cutbacks.
Paddy and Maura are hoping to raise about €3000 sponsorship for their participation in the tour. A coffee morning they ran in Paddy's home a few weeks ago gave their fundraising campaign a major boost.
"We raised €1600 that day. People have been extremely generous. The number of people who came to our coffee morning was unbelieveable," he said.
Anyone wishing to sponsor Paddy O'Callaghan and Maura Buckley in the Tour de Munster can do so by logging onto www.mycharity.ie and typing in the names tour de Munster or Paddy O'Callaghan.
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Monday 21 May 2012
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