Curtain falls on Limerick charity event that raised over €500,000

THE CURTAIN has descended on an epic 10 years of a charity event in west Limerick, having raised in excess of half a million euro for the CRY Ireland charity. 

The seed was sown for this massive CRY walk/run and cycle after the sudden deaths of two young people in the parish of Monagea. Niamh Herlihy, aged 20, studying childcare in Cork, was looking forward to her upcoming 21st birthday party when she died suddenly in her apartment in Cork in April 2011. 

The following December, Darra O’Donovan, aged 15, died in his sleep at home. He was in Junior Cert and played hurling and football with his club and school. 

The sudden losses were a devastating blow to their loved ones and the locality. 

In 2013, their families and community gathered to raise awareness and much needed funds for the charity who had reached out to them in their time of need. 

A call for help went out that first year and the same people returned to their post annually. Down through the years, meticulous planning and a skilled team meant the event numbers multiplied and even survived Covid. People looked forward to  The CRY every May bank holiday. The walk, run and cycles attracted  a cross range of participants from families out for a stroll to competitive athletes and cyclists. 

The Herlihy and O’Donovan Scanlan families would like to “thank everyone who participated and donated to Monagea for CRY”.

“Please continue to support any CRY events being held across the country. Listing all those involved over the years would be impossible, please accept this as a thank you to all.  

“We would like to express sincere gratitude to those who helped with catering, parking, stewarding, those who donated food, money, equipment, vehicles, signs, posters and parking. Thanks to our friends in West Limerick AC, Desmond Sportive CC and NCW CC for their expertise, to our CRY ambassadors for coming to Monagea. 

“Thanks to Monagea hall, Tournafulla hall, Monagea school, Monagea GAA, Newcastle West Rugby club, gardaí, Red Cross, Limerick Council, Weekly Observer, Limerick Leader and various radio stations plus numerous local businesses. 

“The time given and support shown was continuous and open handed, giving and kind, it is a remarkable achievement by all involved,” said the Herlihy and O’Donovan Scanlan families jointly.

Monagea for CRY will always be remembered as a positive for the parish.

“We dedicate the last ten years to Niamh and Darra and to all those we love, that left us way too soon, through whatever circumstances.

“Perhaps instead of feeling sad, we can be proud and celebrate this tremendous legacy, and tell the story of how thousands of people came to the small parish of Monagea to walk and cycle the roads of west Limerick on the Saturday of the May bank holiday weekend,” say the families.

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CRY Ireland aims to provide access to free clinical assessment and management to all families of a young person who are living with an inherited cardiac condition or have suffered, or are at risk of, a sudden cardiac death.

 It provides a family support programme, offering free access to listening volunteers, mentors and bereavement specialists.

 It organises events, and provides access to information and networks. It also supports research into the causes and prevention of sudden cardiac death, in collaboration with other like minded bodies.  All services provided by CRY Ireland are free. CRY is a self-supporting registered charity. The bulk of the money it takes in comes from various fundraising events. Up to 100 people under the age of 35 continue to die from SADS every year in Ireland. 

The families concluded by asking people to please support the cause when you can.