Mayo LGFA club fundraiser raises over €24,000 for club and Croí

A FUNDRAISER which saw members of the Achill LGFA team solo a football along the Great Western Greenway raised €24,400 for the club and the heart and stroke charity, Croí.

The Peil na mBan Achill 'Heart and Solo with Croí' event on August 31 saw members of the ladies team solo a football for 49 km along the Greenway from Westport to Achill. The club got behind Croí, the west of Ireland heart and stroke charity, after its chairperson Packie McGinty almost died following a heart attack in February.

During his two weeks in hospital, Packie's family availed of accommodation close to Galway University Hospital provided by Croí. As a thank you to Croí Packie wanted to raise money for them and Achill LGFA members all rowed in behind him and came up with the event.

Last Friday, it was announced at a function in Patten's Bar in Derreens on Achill Island that a total of €24,400 was raised with €12,500 of that to be donated to Croí.

Speaking to The Mayo News, Packie who is a former President of both Mayo GAA and Mayo Ladies GAA said he could not praise all the players and club members enough for what they did.

“We had planned to do a fundraiser for a trip to Cleveland next October and when I got the heart attack I asked the girls to bring Croí on board and they agreed to do it. That is how it all started.

“If we got up to €10,000 we thought we would be more than happy. I think it was the biggest donation made to Croí by anyone. It was a phenomenal amount of money to raise locally and I am very honoured that they did it for me and for Croí. They are a great group of girls,” he said.

A huge amount of organising went into the event last August with a number of events taking place at Davitt Park GAA pitch while the players were travelling from Westport to Achill. Croí travelled with their mobile health unit offering free blood pressure checks and pulse checks and in total 125 blood pressure checks were done on the day.

Packie said that the welcome the girls got in Davitt Park is something he will cherish forever and thanked all the people who made it happen.

“The reception we got the day we came in was second to none and I was overcome with the amount of people who were there. When you saw the pipers piping them into the field...it was really something very special.

“It was one of the highlights of 2024 along with Féile Acla where we had 105 young players with Achill connections from 40 clubs around Ireland and Britain taking part. Most of the grandparents and uncles and aunts never saw their grandchildren or nieces or nephews play before and it was a sort of reunion. They were the two highlights of the season. ” he explained.

Last year the club which Packie helped found celebrated its 25th anniversary but celebrations had to be on hold while Packie recuperated after his heart attack which required emergency surgery and the insertion of four stents to clear four blocked arteries.

On March 8, the club's postponed 25th anniversary celebration dinner dance will take place and in October the club will travel to Achill's twin city of Cleveland.

On the pitch, Achill LGFA also had success with three of its underage teams winning trophies and Packie is confident the club is on the right track and in good shape for the next 12 months and beyond.