ARMED with a hurley, a sliotar and a football, Joe Blake was up bright and early last Sunday morning to take part in his home club’s fundraiser.
‘I did laps of our walkway at the club grounds,’ the Adrigole club man explains.
‘I soloed around the walkway for half an hour and then I did a few laps with a hurley and sliotar as well, much to the amusement of some.’
Blake was one of many who took part in the Adrigole GAA Heart Screening Fundraiser last weekend that is raising funds for a heart screening session for club members and also for the players’ fund.
Over a 24-hour period, time slots were allocated for locals to walk around the walkway at the club grounds, while families and groups in the local community were also encouraged to take part in any form of exercise during the 24 hours from 11am on Saturday to the following Sunday morning.
‘The day and night concept was to acknowledge the work done on the pitch day and night by people who are still with us but people who have also passed on,’ Blake explains.
‘Back in 2016 we did a heart screening process for the players and those involved with the club teams. One case came back that had to be looked at. It showed how important looking after your health is, be it physical health or mental health.
‘Last year we did a fundraiser for Marymount Hospice and this year we decided to do a fundraiser for the club and look after our own.’
There has been a terrific response to Adrigole’s fundraiser with support pouring in from Canada, America, the Middle East, as well as at home.
Nearly 1300 kilometres were covered by participants last weekend and over €3,750 has been raised to date.
‘This is an important fundraiser,’ Joe Blake says.
‘It keeps the community together, it keeps club people in touch with each other and it keeps morale high too.'
Donations are open for another few weeks and all are appreciated - click here.
