Charity concert and cycle for Crusaders

A CHARITY gig in memory of Thomas Mannion and Kevin Murray to raise funds for the Clare Crusaders Clinic will be held on Thursday night in Ennis.
Twenty two Clare people will cycle 110 miles a day for four days, next week, across four provinces from Ennis to Carrickmacross and back also for Crusaders. One of the cyclists, David Hanrahan and his wife Laura, has organised the charity concert.
“David has been cycling for years but only for pleasure, but this will be the first time he has cycled at this level. Last year he cycled from Malin Head to Mizen Head and this year he decided with others to do a Four Provinces Cycle, to raise funds for Clare Crusaders,” she explained.
Each of the 22 cyclists is sponsoring a child with special needs, who attends the Clare Crusaders Clinic.
“Each of these children has either autism, cerebral palsy or Down syndrome. Each cyclist has to raise at least €1,000. All of the money raised will go towards the cost of services at the clinic,” she added.
The annual cost of running and maintaining the Clare Crusaders Clinic is €250,000, and all of the clinic’s incomes comes from fundraising and personal donations as it does not receive any Government funding.
David was a friend of Thomas ‘Moses’ Mannion, who died tragically in a kayaking accident on Lough Derg, Killaloe about three years ago. Another friend, Kevin Murray, a well-known local musician, died earlier this year.
“We decided to raise money for the cycling fundraiser for Clare Crusaders and that we would hold a gig in memory of our two friends who had died far too young. A lot of people knew them, as they had a big circle of friends. This is the third gig in memory of ‘Moses’ Mannion, and unfortunately it’s also in memory of Kevin this year too,” she remarked.
The concert will feature local groups Isolated Frequency, Bush Plant, Forget Monday and Darcy’s Survivors and will be held in All Bar One in Abbey Street, Ennis on Thursday night from 9.30pm.
“We will take donations at the door which will all go towards the cause. This is something that we hope to continue,” Laura said.
The Four Provinces Cycle will take place from Thursday, July 15 to Sunday, July 18 and there will be a flag day around Ennis at the start and finish of the cycle to collect more funds for the Clare Crusaders Clinic.
The cyclists will leave from the Auburn Lodge at 9am on Thursday and will be waved off by the 22 children they are sponsoring and their families and friends.
The group of cyclists include David Hanrahan, Johnny Chandler, Ollie Hayes, Marie Fennessy, Maria McNamara, Mark Deasy, Ed McMahon, Kieran Greene and Elaine Aherne.
The cyclists will travel from Ennis to Galway, Ballinrobe, Claremorris, Swinford, Carrick-on-Shannon, Cavan and Carrickmacross and return to Ennis from Carrickmacross, to Kells, Mullingar, Kilbeggan, Birr, Ballycommon, Ballina-Killaloe, Ogonnolloe, Tulla, Kilkishen, Shannon and Sixmilebridge.