Students from Limerick schools encourage others to complete Camino De Santiago
Cliona’s Foundation are calling on all incoming Transition Year students and teachers all over Ireland to join them on Camino for Cliona’s 2025
CLIONA'S Foundation are encouraging all incoming Transition Year students and teachers all over Ireland to join them on Camino for Cliona’s 2025 after students from 20 secondary schools around Ireland walk an incredible 114kms along the Camino De Santiago during an extraordinary week in Northern Spain.
Transition Year students took part this year from 21 schools in Munster and Leinster including Mungret Community College, Gaelcholaiste Luimnigh, Laurel Hill, Laurel Hill Colaiste, John The Baptist Hospital, Colaiste Iosaef Kilmallock, Scoil Pol Kilfinane, and from Cork, Colaiste Mhuire Buttevant, Scoil Mhuire Kanturk, and Colaiste Mhuire Crosshaven from Dublin Malahide Community College and Coláiste Pobail Fóla in Saggart. The trip was so rewarding and special that Cliona’s Foundation are calling on schools all over Ireland to join them on the journey in 2025.
Joining the group John Keyes St Munchins in Limerick said: “I had a great experience on The Camino walk in May of this year. It was an experience of a lifetime and I made new friends along the way with whom I'm still in contact. It gave me time to think and enjoy the company of people and new places.”
Also joining the group was transition year student Sinead Murphy from Hazelwood College in Dromcollogher.
She commented: “My 2024 Camino journey was one I will never forget. This was such an amazing opportunity as I made so many new wonderful friends from several counties in Ireland and made lifelong memories like trying Galician food along with the camaraderie and fun in the hostels at night, while raising money for a wonderful cause helping families of children who are ill.
"Over an amazing 5 days we walked 120km, uphill, downhill, over rivers and through quaint villages, our terrain varied as we walked in warm high 20 degree heat. Along our route we encountered many historical sites, local musicians and craftspeople. It was an unforgettable cultural experience. During the week we met people from various nations who, like us, were undertaking the Camino. On completing the Camino there was a great sense of personal achievement and a great sense of fulfilment that we were all able to assist Cliona’s Foundation.”
The second annual Camino for Cliona’s trips took place this summer when 101 students, teachers and group leaders flew to Santiago in Northern Spain to undertake a huge personal challenge, the 114kms Sarria to Santiago leg of the Camino. These special trips took place after the group collectively raised over €124,000 for families caring for seriously sick children in Ireland.
They then walked along the infamous Camino in solidarity with these families over five days.
Cliona’s Foundation provide financial assistance to families caring for a seriously sick child all over Ireland to help specifically with the non-medical costs associated with the diagnosis. The foundation was set up by Brendan and Terry Ring following the death of their daughter Cliona from an inoperable brain tumour in 2006.
Cliona’s have supported over 1,400 families and in 2023 distributed their largest amount ever to families in need, €502,000, across 27 counties. Many parents must give up their jobs to care for their sick child leaving them struggling to cope. Studies have highlighted that a family will need between €10,000 and €15,000 a year to cover various bills while their child is ill.
The Camino De Santiago is a pilgrimage rooted in medieval origins, also known as The Way of Saint James, and has grown in popularity in Ireland and internationally. It leads to the tomb believed to be that of the Apostle Saint James the Greater, in the crypt of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.
Cliona’s Foundation expects up to 200 families will apply for financial assistance this year and will need to raise a minimum of €500,000 to meet these applications.