Stroke survivors host tournament

Gabija Gataveckaite

A stroke survivors’ group based in Crumlin recently held their inaugural boccia tournament at St Bernadette’s Parish Centre.

Members of different stroke survivor support groups battled it out on the day for the first-ever Andy Kavanagh Trophy.

“It’s a bit of fun and it’s a little competition,” explained Les Carroll, co-ordinator of the Crumlin and Tallaght support groups. “Both men and women can take part in it.

“It’s a nice game to play indoors and people in wheelchairs can take part, as well as those who may be paralysed on one side.”

 He added: “It’s not all about the competition – boccia is a game that’s good for coordination, and helps those in recovery.”

Boccia is a precision ball game, similar to bowls, and is mainly played by people with physical disabilities. It is believed to have originated in Italy.

The Andy Kavanagh Trophy is named after a stroke patient who used to frequent the group before his passing three years ago.

“He’s always appreciated through his family and we’ve always appreciated his support,” said Les.

Andy’s son was part of a group of men who raised €3,000 for the support group last year. Along with his friends, he started raising money for charity through a series of annual football matches. This began at a stag three years ago when a challenge was put to some of the older men to take on the younger ones in a football match in Spain.

It soon became an annual event for the group, which then turned into a fundraiser where the men get together and play a football match in aid of a charity of their choice.

Last year, it was the Crumlin Stroke Support Group that benefitted.

“Last year, Andy Jnr wanted to give something back to the support group and himself and his friends decided to dedicate one of their matches to the support group, which we’re very grateful for,” Les said.

The recent boccia tournament was hosted by the Dublin City Sports and Wellbeing Partnership.

Anyone interested in taking part in the Crumlin or Tallaght Stroke Support Groups can contact Les Carroll on 087-0663063.