Shannon by Oar team raises thousands for Irish hospices
THE ‘Shannon by Oar’ team rowed 160 miles down the Shannon last month and last week handed over cheques of €31,785 each to the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Wicklow Hospice Foundation.
Rower and skiff-builder Ger Crowley said that the donation was thanks to the terrific generosity of all those who supported the team’s mission.
The project consisted of rowing down the entire Shannon from Corry Beach in the north of Lough Allen to finish under Sarsfield Bridge in Limerick in the first week of June.
It was a whole hearted and spirited endeavour by all the Shannon by Oar team of 25 rowers who experienced amazing hospitality from every one along the way as all the funds raised were going directly to the hospice foundations and none being used to fund the challenge.
‘We were, however, the privileged and lucky ones being healthy enough to undertake such a challenge for those far less fortunate than ourselves,’ said Ger.
Three years ago, the Bray-based team, including Joey the dog, suc- cessfully circumnavigated Ireland in a 15-foot wooden rowing skiff in aid of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.
Ger and his team decided to stick their oars in once again. While their 2015 venture was a four-month endeav- our, this was a shorter trip. Rowers joined the team from Dublin, Sligo, Limerick, Meath, London and even New Zealand. The nine-day expedition took them across Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg.