Huge turnout expected for Hurley-Hoey Memorial

WHILE up to 2,000 walkers and runners are expected to descend on St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield’s GAA complex in Gurteen for the Eilish Hurley – Ger Hoey Memorial Walk/Run on Saturday from 2pm, a sister event in Sydney has also attracted huge interest.

 

So much so that Sydney-based Sarah Hoey, sister of the late Ger, has had to apply to the local city council for a permit for the Sydney leg of the event.

“Sarah had a panic attack about two weeks ago at the thought of having to go into Sydney City Council looking for a permit,” her brother, John Hoey, told The Clare Champion.

The Sydney Hurley-Hoey run will be held in Centennial Park at 8am on Saturday with participants assembling at the Paddington Gates entrance at 7.45am. The theme of the fundraiser in Clare and abroad is ‘run in memory of your loved ones’.

Sister events will be held in Albert Park, Melbourne; Hyde Park, London; Pitsford Reservoir, Northampton and in Dubai, Cape Town, New York, Madrid and Buenos Aires. Proceeds raised from all runs will be donated to St Anne’s School in Ennis and The Sunshine Children’s Ward in the Regional Hospital, Limerick.

However, some of the Sydney-based Doora-Barefield emigrants will have very personal reasons for taking part.

“A couple of [the late] Niall White’s friends, Anthony Halpin and Caimin O’Connor, are also out there along with the likes of Sarah and Conor Hassett. There’s going to be a big crowd in Sydney. It’ll be very emotional for them. Seemingly you can’t walk down the street in Sydney without meeting someone from Doora-Barefield, Kilmaley or Sixmilebridge. They’re rowing in behind this really as a way to connect back,” John Hoey explained.

Emigration has had a trans-generational impact upon Doora-Barefield. “I played in an U-21 A semi-final in 1985, I think. I was only 15 but we counted that of the 15 that started, 12 emigrated and nine never came back. Hopefully, the current emigrants will come back. That’s the fear. They won’t come back in the near future but if the upshot of this run is that we can grab them by the ankle and don’t let them go altogether, that would be great,” he said.

John feels the theme of remembering loved ones, while walking or running, resonates with people.

“The run in memory of your loved one has a very emotional appeal. I did the run, which was my second ever 10km run, last Sunday morning. The sun was shining and it was really nice. I had 57.34 minutes just thinking about Ger, my grandmother and people who have been close to me over the years. It’s a very solitary kind of experience. There’s nobody dragging off you. You’re out there pounding away and your mind becomes clear. It’s an ideal time to remember people even though I don’t like running. It gives you the space to think about these things. I think that’s going to be a very important element,” he reflected.

He expects that more walkers than runners will take part. “I’d say 70% of the people will be walking it. It’ll turn out to be a family event,” he predicted.

Up to 50 GAA clubs are expected to participate on Saturday. The top GAA club will be presented with a set of 30 jerseys. The top three times count and they must be GAA-playing members for their time to be registered. Participants can enter online or on Saturday in Gurteen from 10.30am. More information can be viewed on www.hurleyhoey10km.com.