A FAMILY fun day is due to take place in DkIT’s Astro pitches on Sunday, June 5 from 1-3pm in aid of Dundalk woman Sonia Hoey.
Dubbed Sonia’s ‘Big Foot’ football blitz the event aims to raise money to fund more essential cancer treatment for Sonia in the Hope4Cancer Clinic in Mexico.
“She’s doing okay but it’s tough for her to keep the positive side out all of the time. In fairness to her, she’s very resilient,” said a spokesperson for the Save Our Sonia campaign.
“She’s so strong-willed, she’s keeping going. It helps to have the target of getting to Mexico again in July.
“She’s hoping to go for two weeks. It’s fairly full on the treatment even though it’s not as invasive and not as toxic.”
She added: “All we can do is try and raise more funds. The more times she can go the better. Sonia is really grateful for all of the support she’s received since she first went public with her illness.
“She couldn’t get through all of the messages and phone calls. It was really lovely. It shows what kind of a town Dundalk is. It helps her to keep going and stay positive. “
Sonia is well recognised for a number of achievements in sports and has previously played with Dundalk FC, Peamount Ladies FC and Blackrock FC. She was awarded Argus Sports Star of the year in 2005 and won the FAI Cup Final with Dundalk FC also in 2005. She was the captain of the DKIT football college team and won the Interprovincial college tournament. Sonia played Gaelic with her local club Dowdallshill and with Louth’s women’s team. More recently she was the first player to take her place in the Castletown Belles FC hall of fame.
On the family fun day on Sunday, June 5, there will be teams of five players and entry costs €50 per team. Teams can be mixed and are open to all children over the age of 12.
Each team provides a business as sponsor. Each player receives a sponsor card. There will be prizes for best dressed and best team name.
There will also be fun games, inflatables and dart football for people of all ages. All proceeds will go towards treatment for Sonia in Mexico.
Former Dundalk FC star Sonia, aged 42, was originally diagnosed with cervical cancer in February 2019.
The people of Dundalk and the surrounding areas succeeded in raising a massive €108,000 for her first round of treatment in Mexico.
However, Sonia needs to continue her treatment and the new campaign is hoping to raise €50,000 to fund her return to Mexico.
Local businesses and individuals can support Sonia by donating. Simply log on to Save Our Sonia campaign’s Facebook page and get in touch with the campaigners for more details.