Croke Park to Achill Cycle could become annual event

Plans for Croke Park to Achill Cycle to become an annual fund-raising event

Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie

A tremendous welcome greeted the saddle sore and weary cyclists to Achill after they cycled the 300km journey across Ireland with hopes the cycle will now become an annual event
The Achill GAA Croke Park to Davitt Park Cycle Challenge took place over the weekend and involved 23 cyclists of all ages leaving GAA Headquarters early on Saturday morning and arriving back at Davitt Park in Achill on Sunday afternoon.
The challenge was organised as a fund-raiser for Achill GAA, Achill Bord na n-Óg and Croí – the West of Ireland Heart Foundation.
This was the second year of the challenge when 17 cyclists took part last year and due to its overwhelming success the numbers taking part grew to 23. While the vast majority of cyclists were Achill natives participants from Dublin and Meath who have no family ties to the island also took part after hearing of the novel event.
Achill GAA Chairman, MicheΡl McNamara who took part in the cycle thanked everyone for their support and expressed his hope that the cycle will become a much larger and regular event.
“The cycle was a tremendous success and ran very smoothly and we got great support from the community. I would hope that this cycle will become an annual event and grow on the success of this year and last year. All the cyclists worked hard in the run-up to the event and that hard work paid off and the welcome they received meant a lot to them,” he said.
The peloton left Croke Park early on Saturday morning with temperatures below zero degrees but despite the freezing temperatures they made good progress travelling at an average speed of 23km per hour. They arrived in Ballaghderreen on time where they stayed in Durkin’s Hotel for the evening before setting off again on Sunday morning.
More cyclists joined the group along the route to Achill and there was a tremendous welcome as they entered the parish before their final stop in Davitt Park.
John P McGinty of the Achill branch of Croí presented medals to each of the cyclists and thanked them for helping to raise funds for the organisations. MicheΡl McNamara also thanked Sweeney’s Super Valu, the Achill Sound Hotel, Paul McLoughlin, the Order of Malta and the support team of Packie McGinty, Hughie and Anne McGinty and Lorna Sweeney who travelled with the group for their support.
The cyclists who took part were CiarΡn Boylan, Cormac Holland, Brian O’Neill, Bernard Briody, Edward Johnston, Paul Johnston, Jason Sheehy, Shane Ginnelly, SeΡn Lyons, TomΡs McLoughlin, Maeibh McNamara, Eileen McNamara, John Joe O’Donnell, MicheΡl McNamara, Neal O’Donnell, MΡrtan Ó MongΡin, Anton McNulty, Des Cogan, PΡdraig Corrigan, Michael Dara Sweeney, Jimmy Stapelton, Dónal McLoughlin, and Francis Sweeney and Michael Cafferkey.
Achill GAA would like to thank the safety team who accompanied the cyclists safely from Dublin to Achill; Lorna Sweeney, Anne McGinty, Hughie McGinty and Packie McGinty and to the members of the Achill Order of Malta who provided an ambulance service along the journey, An Garda SíochΡna who accompanied the group from Newport and to those who turned up at Croke Park on Saturday morning at 7am to send the cyclists off and to all those who turned up to welcome them home.
Achill GAA would like to say a massive thanks to all who gave so generously by sponsoring the cyclists; to the fund-raising committee, Achill friends of Croi, Bord na nÓg committee, players from the very young to intermediate players, those who distributed and collected sponsorship cards and donations over the last number of weeks throughout Achill and thanks to the bag packers who gave up their free time over the Easter weekend in Sweeney’s Supervalu to fundraise for the cycle and to all those who prayed for a safe journey and thankfully those prayers were answered with the beautiful weather.

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