Photo: Cian Reinhardt
ON AUGUST 4, a group of cyclists will arrive in Limerick on a 600 kilometre fundraiser for a charity established by the owner of a Moyross pharmacy after the death of her little boy.
And for some of those supporting this unique charity, it will be a case of both getting and giving.
The fundraising cycle for ‘Hugh’s House’ will take place over five days from August 3 to 7 to raise money to support two ‘homes from home’ for the families of seriously ill children.
Hugh’s House was established in 2015 by Ade Stack owner of the Watchouse Cross pharmacy in Moyross and her partner Marty Curley following the death of their eight month-old son Hugh.
The charity now operates two houses which provide free long and short-term accommodation for parents forced to move to Dublin while their sick children are taken care of in Temple Street Hospital or at The Rotunda. The houses are located within a five minute walk of each hospital and are an invaluable resource for the affected families.
A core group of 20 cyclists will tackle the 600km route from Mizen Head to Malin Head to raise funds for the maintenance of services and continuing refurbishment of the houses.
Explaining her reasons for establishing Hugh’s House, co-founder Ade Stack said it is the hardest thing in the world to have a sick child and nobody ever expects it.
“When it does happen, you end up far away from home without the support of your family. We were able to be with Hugh every day and when he died we could look back on every day spent together – it makes it bearable – there was no guilt’.
The group will observe a minute’s silence at The Hub to pay respects to a member of “The Hub” cycling group, Des Butler from Caherdavin, who lost his life in a cycling accident near Bunratty in March.
Each day’s cycle will involve more than 100km with fund-raising efforts in each town along the route. In total, the cyclists will cover a gruelling 600km over the five days.
Fergal O’Shea, a former employee of the pharmacy and one of the organisers of the event said,” I wanted to organise something for the charity and to raise awareness Ade is a lovely person and an absolute inspiration”.
Anyone who wants to support the cause can do so by logging on to gofundme
Read similar stories in the Limerick Post Community section.
