Running and bowling for a good cause

When her late mother Rosaleen was undergoing treatment for cancer, Denn woman Nicola was most appreciative of the services provided by Friends of Cavan Oncology (Cavan Oncology ward) and Cavan Monaghan Palliative Care.

Following her passing in January 2023, the family decided to give something back and organised several charity events, through which they raised €21,616.26 and split between the charities. “We did the mini marathon in June to raise funds for the charities, which we felt indebted to after the great care they gave to mam.”

Nicola says the events exceeded their expectations: “We didn’t expect to raise as much as we did. It went very well. Sixteen of us did the mini marathon in June. Some of us ran and others walked it. It was mainly family with a few of our close friends and neighbours also taking part. It was an emotional day but it was for a good cause. There were a lot of people there doing it for their own personal cause...

“It was very hard, warm it was 26 degrees, it was tough to do, but the warm weather was great for enjoying the day afterward.”

Following this the family also ran a local competition for an event that was close to Rosaleen’s heart.

“We ran a ladies’ memorial skittles tournament in the Tank for charity as well. It used to be an annual competition in the area a few years ago and mam was very involved in organising women’s skittles competitions. Fourteen teams entered and a team called ‘The A team’ from Killygarry won the final.”

Nicola was happy with how the competition went and thanked all who helped out: “We’re delighted with how it went, it was very successful. The Tank sponsored t-shirts of mam for the mini marathon, they also made posters, and banners and sponsored a shield for the day skittles tournament, which is something we hope to keep up and run annually.”