The Dillon Quirke camino on the home stretch in Tipperary
The walkers had plenty of energy for the home stretch through Thurles on Wednesday afternoon
A group of enthusiastic and cheery walkers made their way to Thurles today, for the ‘Dillon Quirke camino’, with intercounty stars from both Tipperary and Limerick among those raising funds.
Staff at UniJobs, which employs Limerick's Cian Lynch and Tipperary's Barry Hogan among others, took on the walk from Limerick city centre through Newport and onto Thurles, a route that legions would have taken to historic matches between the two counties across the last century.
The walk, which is to raise funds and awareness for cardiac screening and the life-saving work of the Foundation, began at 8am from UniJobs headquarters at Riverpoint, Limerick, with day one of the walk and concluding at Sean Treacy's GAA. Day 2, to Semple Stadium, commences at 9am, with an estimated arrival time of 3pm in Thurles.
Before the walk, Tipperary goalkeeper Barry Hogan, who played with Dillon Quirke against Limerick in the 2022 championship game just three months before his passing, said that the initiative is a cause dear to his and the company's heart.
"I played with Dillon and he was an incredible personality, not to mind a hurler. But what's happened in his memory by way of the Dillon Quirke Foundation is incredible. It is saving lives, no question. But it is also then an inspired legacy to Dillon himself. He was always a larger than life as a person and this legacy is proving it," he said.
"What his family has done with the Foundation is phenomenal. Through the worst of pain, they have built something that is saving the lives of others. Instead of the rest of us running to them to help, they are actually coming to all of us with help. It's incredible to think they have built something so positive from what they experienced that day in Semple Stadium. So, this walk and fund raiser is the least we could do for them."
Hogan said they have chosen the route in question for a number of reasons, including nostalgic. "Perhaps the road most used to Thurles, in cars, on bikes and on foot, in the very early days of hurling matches between Tipp and Limerick was the one we are walking. It takes you through Limerick clubs, Tipperary clubs and is along a really stunning countryside. So, it's like our own hurling camino from Limerick to Thurles.
"We are really looking forward to it. We'll have great chats, we'll no doubt do a lot of thinking and talking about Dillon as we walk. And we'll have plenty of laughs too. So, we are asking as many to join us and support this great foundation as possible."
The Dillon Quirke Foundation also resonates deeply for Unijobs at an employee level. Founded in 2013, Unijobs' first employee and founding Chief Executive was Abbeyfeale native Bobby O'Connor, whose family experienced the devastating loss of their eldest sibling, David, in 1995 to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS). Unijobs' second employee and current Chief Operating Officer, Damien Bowe lost his brother Michael to a heart-related illness when he was just 27 years old.
These deeply personal experiences have given the work of the Dillon Quirke Foundation particular meaning within Unijobs, reinforcing the importance of raising awareness of cardiac health and supporting efforts to prevent similar tragedies affecting other families.
Launching the walk, Dillon Quirke Foundation Chair Niall Quinn said, "Our work isn't done until every young sports person gets screened and this message isn't just to the sports people or to the people who are good enough to go out and have fundraising events like UniJobs, this is also a message to parents too, that it's best to be safe and have your children screened and Dillon Quirke Foundation will do everything we can. If your club gets in touch, we'll get you on that list and we'll the screening done."
Quinn added, "And of course, our mission is all underpinned by the Quirke family's desire never to see a family suffered the way they've had to suffer through the loss of Dillon."