The big reverse in Shercock

A Drumgoon man is going to reverse his lorry and trailer a distance over 13km to raise funds for Shercock GAA club.

As a quid games contestant, Gerry Hughes was tasked with setting up a fundraiser before game day on May 4.

“We were sitting at home in the house one Sunday evening after the dinner and the wife Margaret says to me, ‘what do you think, what are you going to do as a fundraiser?’”

At this stage father of two Gerry had pretty much decided that a table quiz or a hamper would suffice. However, the three women of the house had a different idea in mind.

“Could you do something with the lorry?” Margaret suggested to him.

“We were talking and the wee lassies, my two daughters, they said ‘yeah Daddy do something with the lorry!’,” he said, adding that his daughters, 18-year-old Philippa and 15-year-old Gráinne have a great interest in his driving.

“I said I’ll reverse the lorry from O’Hagen Park to Boyle Park,” he announced, which the family thought was a “great idea”.

“They thought it was only the lorry on its own,” he said, adding that he had always intended on reversing the trailer as well. “You’re mad,” Margaret told him upon seeing the post on Facebook, which revealed the full extent of his fundraiser.

He will reverse his lorry and trailer from O’Hagan Park in Shercock to Boyle Park in Drumgoon, a distance of 13.6km on April 21.

“It’s just gone through the roof, the amount of well wishes and the amount of people ringing, donating, it’s unbelievable.”

Gerry admits that he may have gotten himself into a “woeful mess”, however is hoping that his 32 years of driving experience stands to him. He drives for Angretia, which is his brother Martin’s company, sponsors of the lorry on the day of the big reverse.

It’s a route that Gerry knows well, having grown up playing football for Shercock and later Drumgoon when he married.

“I started my football career in Shercock and I ended it in Drumgoon, that’s why I picked the two places,” he explained.

While he is fundraising for Shercock, if he wins the Quid Games, the proceeds of that will go to Drumgoon club. He is asking people to guess how long the reverse will take him, at a cost of €10 per guess or three guesses for €20, with a €500 prize for the winner. The lorry driver thinks the reverse will take “less than two hours” however others have told him there’s “not a hope”.

Gerry is extremely grateful to everybody who has donated to him and sent well wishes and also for those who have agreed to help out on the day. Each kilometre of the journey has been sponsored by local haulage companies, with his efforts raising over €4,000 so far.

“It’s something different,” he said. “I’ll either be a hero or I’ll have to leave the country - one or the other,” he laughed.

Secretary of Shercock GFC, Patricia Burns, wished all their contestants “the very best of luck” in their upcoming Quid Games fundraiser on May 4 in the Errigal Hotel. More information can be found on Shercock GFC’s Facebook page.