CYCLISTS from West Cork joined the thousands taking part in the annual Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle event this weekend.
This year marked four decades supporting hundreds of worthy causes including the kidney community it was originally established to support.
Among the thousands of cyclists who took part, more than 50 of them were flying the flag for the Irish Kidney Association and promoting the lifesaving act of organ donation for transplantation. The group included kidney heart and liver transplant recipients, living kidney donors, and their families and friends, an inspiration to us all and a great reflection of the wider kidney community in Ireland.
Joan McDonald, a living kidney donor from Oysterhaven, Cork who generously gave a kidney to her sister Fiona (living in Midleton) just nine months ago, joined the cycle, embodying the spirit of giving and hope.
The Ring of Kerry Charity cycle event has now raised close to €20m million for more than 170 charities and worthy causes, and was initially founded by two Killarney stalwarts, Theresa Looney and Denis Geaney, who set about raising funds to build a dialysis centre in Tralee for Kerry patients who had to travel to Cork for their treatment in the absence of a local treatment centre. Theresa's husband Pat Looney cycled in the inaugural cycle and now four decades later took on the challenge.
For more information about the event or to make a donation, please visit www.ika.ie/ringofkerry
