Limerick Person of the Year leads charity cycle to commemorate Covid victims
LIMERICK Person of the Year, Dr Catherine Motherway will lead a 200km charity cycle from Limerick to Dublin this Thursday
The ICU consultant will be joined by frontline colleagues from University Hospital Limerick in the local effort of a national fundraising cycle to commemorate those who have lost their lives to Covid-19.
Dr Motherway urged the people of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary to support the ICU4U Memorial Charity Cycle, which aims to raise €150,000 for charity partners working with people impacted by the secondary challenges of the pandemic.
The UHL team of frontline healthcare workers, some accompanied with family and partners, includes Eileen and Paddy O Neill, Anne Calitz, Mary Sexton, Vera Leahy, Hanin Hamza, David Murphy, Debbie and DJ Hayes, and Donal Ryan, as well as Catherine Motherway and Christy Curley.
Speaking ahead of the event, Dr Motherway, said: “This year’s event is an important commemoration of all those who have lost their lives to Covid-19. And we would hope that the public will support our participation by contributing funds for the four excellent charities whose work helps many people who have been adversely affected by the pandemic.”
The cyclists will pass through as many community hospitals as possible en route to Dublin, collecting white roses along the way to represent lives lost to the virus.
At the conclusion of the cycle tomorrow, a brief commemoration ceremony will be held at the Memorial Gardens, Islandbridge, to remember the victims of Covid-19 in front of more than 7,000 white roses, which will be displayed at the gardens for the weekend.
The four charity partners of this year’s ICU4U Memorial Charity Cycle are ALONE (supporting older people): Aware (mental health supports); Aware NI (depression supports in Northern Ireland) and Breakthrough Cancer Research (new treatments for poor prognosis and difficult to treat cancers).
More than half the fundraising total has been achieved through corporate sponsorship. Donations can also be made online here.