Limerick’s skydiving grandma, 71, enjoyed leap of faith

A 71-year-old grandmother-of-six jumped out of a plane 10,000 feet above Offaly to raise funds for one of Limerick's favourite charities.

Patricia Heaton, 71, from Ballysimon, undertook the daring leap of faith last Saturday in Clonbullogue, Co Offaly, to raise funds for Milford Hospice.

Ms. Heaton is a cancer survivor, and was “in and out” of the Castletroy-based centre over the years, but is well on the road to recovery as her heroics show.

Her son, Martin, spoke of how his mum wanted to give something back after the centre “took care of her” and wanted to tick skydiving off her “bucket list.”

“They helped her through some very tough times when she was sick” he said.

Ms. Heaton was a novice skydiver and was slightly apprehensive about the jump.

“The song Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty came on the radio when we were on the way there, so that was a sign alright!” remarked Mr Heaton.

Ms Heaton is said to have been “going mad in the car with nerves” beforehand but ultimately jumped 10,000 feet and “handled it like a pro.”

Milford Hospice were, and still are, a big part of Ms. Heaton’s life, so she decided to repay her carers in a novel manner.

“I'm terrified of heights but I want to do my bit to help generate some much needed funds for a great cause” reads her GoFundMe page.

At time of writing, Ms. Heaton’s fundraiser has raised nearly €300 on GoFundMe but aims to raise €1,000.

Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/etk7c

 “No matter how small it may be, every little helps." said Ms. Heaton.