In Pictures: €62,700 raised in Dublin to Drimarone cycle is given to charities

A warm feeling of camaraderie was very evident amidst the banter and craic as those who  took part in the Dublin to Drimarone cycle gathered for a presentation ceremony.

The presentations took place in Drimarone’s Bluestack Centre on Saturday evening, with an incredible €62,700 shared between Letterkenny University Hospital Oncology Unit, Letterbarrow FC and Drimarone Development Association.

Participants were joined by family members, representatives of the beneting charities, and the extended family of Seamus McGinty in whose memory this year’s event took place.

One of the key organisers, Fergus McGroary is a garda sergeant, and he began by recalling that exactly a year earlier, he had been in Creeslough in the aftermath of the explosion that claimed ten lives. He asked those gathered to remember the people of Creeslough who were marking the first anniversary of the tragedy. 

The Dublin to Drimarone Cycle took place from August 20 to 22, with 67 people taking part and raising money through sponsorship, with many more helping out through bucket collections and as part of the support team. Local businesses also contributed through sponsorship, goods and expertise. 

Fergus said: “It has been a phenomenal success. This was an event undertaken for the community by the community.”

He spoke of the late Seamus McGinty who was an integral part of the community, and who was very involved in previous Dublin to Drimarone cycles. 

“Seamus loved this cycle and he was a big part of it and it meant a lot to us to do it in his memory,” said Fergus. 

Thanks was extended to everyone who supported the event in any way, especially the 67 cyclists who took part.

Seamus’s brother Martin praised everyone involved, saying: “It is an incredible amount of money. 

“On behalf of Seamus’s family, thank you very much for keeping him in your thoughts and for dedicating the cycle run to Seamus’s memory. It was a lovely gesture that we much appreciate.”

Letterbarrow FC was presented with two cheques of €6,270 each, one for the seniors and the other for the relatively new youth section.

Club stalwart Denis O’Gorman said: “The club will be 50 in two years time, and in 50 years we probably never got his amount of money, even if you added everything up together. 

“I can’t thank people enough.”

Denis was one of those who took part in the cycle, and he said: “It was the best weekend I have ever had. It was an absolute pleasure.”

Tony Curley accepted a cheque on behalf of the youth section of the club. 

“On behalf of Letterbarrow Youths, well done and thank you very much,” he said. 

Tony told those gathered that when the club opened up to young people, they had aimed to get 50 or 60 kids playing.

“We are not even finished year three and we are at 120 kids,” he said, adding thanks to all the parents and extended family members who contributed their time and effort to the club. 

He said the money would go on funding training, first aid training, buses, and items such as goals. 

“It will go a long way,” said Tony. “I am speechless at the amount of money you raised. Well done.”

A cheque for €12,540 was presented to Drimarone Development Association.

Deirdre Meehan said: “That amount of money, we would have never been able to raise anything like that on our own.”

She said that some of the money would go towards a new astro covering for the football field, and that all money would be spent in a way that would directly benefit the local community. 

“I want to say thank you to each and every one of you,” said Deirdre. 

The main beneficiary of the cycle was Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) Oncology Unit.

Acting Director of Nursing at LUH Siobhan McGroarty accepted the cheque.

She said: “On behalf of all the staff and all the patients in the oncology unit, thank you all.”
Siobhan outlined how cancer treatments were improving all the time but some patients still needed to spend a lot of time as day patients in the unit.

“We are going to spend the money on buying new chairs for the waiting area,” she said. 

“It will all be used specifically for the day unit.”

Siobhan said that plans were being put in place to build a standalone oncology unit at LUH, which would include in-patient and day patient services for people with cancer.