A 78-year-old West Cork ‘blow in’ is taking to the skies for a 13,000ft tandem parachute jump in aid of loveable teddy bears.
Liam Cunningham, who lives in Bantry but is originally from Crosshaven, will be hitting those dizzy heights on April 13th to raise funds for the Teddies for Loving Care (TLC) charity, which has delivered almost 50,000 teddies to children since the charity came to Munster in 2013.
The charity is administered under the auspices of the Masonic Order in Ireland.
Speaking to The Southern Star, Liam – or Brother Teddy to his Freemason colleagues – has been very involved in the charity for the past 12 years and delivers teddy bears to hospitals across the Cork region, including Bantry and CUH.
‘My daughter Amanda had already signed up to a skydive in aid of Marymount Hospice on that day at the Irish Parachute Club in Co Offaly so I decided to follow her for what will be a hair-raising fundraising idea for TLC. I have the all-clear too from my doctor,’ said Liam.
‘I’m nervous and I may have to be pushed out of the plane because I’ll probably be afraid to jump! It’s certainly pushing my boundaries for sure, although I tried a zip-line and found that experience exhilarating. But it’s all about the charity and these little teddy bears bring smiles to children at a time of stress in their young lives.’Liam also has the support of his loving wife Trisha who said she will back him all the way – but wouldn’t be joining him for the jump!
‘He doesn’t stop and is always thinking of ideas to do, which is great, too, for our age,’ she said.
As well as fundraising for his favourite charity, Liam is a well-known storyteller and a self-published author with three books to his name. Cars are also a passion and he is the founding member of a WhatsApp group called ‘Interesting Cars and Coffee’.
Liam has set up a GoFundMe page ‘Jump For Teddies’ and those interested in supporting his charity parachute jump are being asked to support it on the site.
