Dundalk woman Ciara Callan will celebrate her 50th birthday by climbing Croagh Patrick this weekend to help raise money for SOSAD in Louth. Ciara, originally from Faughart has been working as a nurse in London for the past 27 years and had organised a weekend in Westport with friends to mark her 50th birthday.
Like many other people around town, Ciara was shocked and saddened to hear about the tragic passing of popular Dundalk native Mark ‘Maxi’ Kavanagh last Friday. Although she had already decided to raise money for SOSAD, his death made her doubly determined to complete the climb despite the fact that she is due to undergo a knee replacement in 2025.
According to Ciara, she is all too aware of the painful impact of suicide in her hometown of Dundalk and she wanted to try and do something that may benefit somebody down the line who is struggling.
“When I heard the news about Maxi I was shocked and saddened. I had already started a GoFundMe page a couple of weeks earlier with the aim of climbing Croagh Patrick to try and raise money for SOSAD Louth and Maxi’s passing has just made me more determined to get out there and raise as much money as I can for what I feel is a very important charity in our town.
I know Maxi did a lot of work with SOSAD locally and given the fact September is World Suicide Prevention Month, I thought SOSAD was the perfect charity to try and raise some money for.
“I turned 50 recently and with that in mind I had organised a weekend in Westport with my friends to mark the occasion. We didn’t want to spend all weekend just sitting in the pub so part of the plan for the trip to Westport was to climb Croagh Patrick. I just thought to myself if I’m going to climb it I may as well turn it into a fundraiser and try and raise some money for a good cause.
I’m in my 50s with a defibrillator due to heart issues and will undergo a knee replacement in 2025 but even if I have to crawl up I will make it to the top and complete the challenge,” vowed Ciara. “I have good hiking boots and a stick and on Friday morning we will set off,” she added.
“I have worked as a nurse in a hospital in London for the past 27 years and my colleagues have been wonderfully generous since I set up the GoFundMe page. I have already raised close to €2000 and the aim is to reach €2500. If I don’t reach that target I will top it up myself to make sure I will be handing over a cheque for €2,500 to SOSAD Louth. Thank you to everybody who has supported me so far and they should be proud that they are helping a very worthwhile charity who do unbelievable work in our town,” stated Ciara.
Ciara will set off on her journey up Croagh Patrick in Mayo this Friday morning. If you are in a position to support her fundraiser you can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/croagh-patrick-walk-for-sosad-louth
