Aine O'Boyle
A CHARITY drive in memory of a popular local woman is raising thousands of euro for charity.
A total of €14,875 had been raised of the €15,000 goal of the Arc Cancer Support in Memory of Tash Mulligan GoFundMe page at time of going to press.
As part of the fundraising initiative Lansdowne Football Club organised a charity swim at the Forty Foot, Dun Laoghaire, in memory of Tash, a longtime club member, volunteer and the wife of last year’s club president, Kieran J Mulligan.
On March 2, Tash passed away after an incredibly brave fight with cancer.
The swim took place on Sunday, October 13 and attracted a large crowd, despite the rainy weather.
According to the charity swim organiser and club member, Jack Dinneen: “There was roughly just shy of 100 people in the water and I would say there was just as many people outside spectating as well.”
Tash was a highly active member of Lansdowne Football Club.
“I’ve been in Lansdowne three years now and every year that I’ve been there, no matter what event is on, whether it’s ladies’ charity brunches or fundraising events, Tash was always there,” said Jack.
The Mulligan family have always been heavily involved in every aspect of the club with Tash’s husband, Kieran, being the former president of the club and their eldest son, James, playing for them.
“At the start of last year, no matter what the family were going through, Kieran would always be around and be willing to help out with the club and that meant a lot to us,” said Jack.
Jack and his teammates decided to organise the swim as a thank you for all that the Mulligan family have done for Lansdowne Football Club.
The money raised from the charity swim was aput towards the ARC Cancer Support Centres, with 10 of the ladies involved in the charity donning their high-vis jackets and buckets to come out and support the swim.
“I do believe ARC helped them through that difficult time,” said Jack.
“We have been absolutely blown away by the reach and the generosity of people,” said Jack.
“I first put up the GoFundMe page with a target of €1,000 and that was met within 20 minutes.”
Between bucket collections on the day of the swim and the GoFundMe page, Lansdowne Football Club have now raised around €17,000 for Arc Cancer Support Centres.
The club is hoping to raise a total of €20,000 for the charity and once they hit this target, they intend on presenting them with a cheque for the final amount.