BUTT RUN’S €9,000
THE sixth annual Butt Run took place on Sunday, October 28, and proved to be a great success with 145 participants getting involved.
The organising committee worked hard at ensuring everything ran according to plan and the fact weather conditions on the day were ideal added to the overall atmosphere of the event.
The range of vehicles included vintage and classic tractors and cars with a lot of them harking back to the golden age of motoring in the 1950s, ’ 60s and ’70s.
The organisers are confident that over €9,000 will be raised when the final total is ascertained in the coming days.
‘All the money raised from this event will be given to Group 129 of the Irish Pilgrimage Trust,’ said a spokesperson for the organising committee.
Group 129 is made up of volunteers from the locality who travel each year bringing children with special needs to the shrine at Lourdes. All the volunteers pay their own way on the pilgrimage but commit as a group to raising funds so that the young people involved can travel at no cost to their families.
‘Any surplus money is used to run respite homes in Wexford and in Galway for families of children with special needs,’ said the spokesperson.
The Irish Pilgrimage Trust is a registered charity in Ireland and for over 40 years it has been organising a pilgrimage styled holiday to Lourdes for young people with special needs from all over Ireland.
The Trust has over 1,200 people travelling at Easter time divided into small groups of around 10 young people and 12 volunteer carers who stay in local hotels while in France.
During the summer they bring groups to Hosanna House in Bartres, near Lourdes, for what is a unique experience for carers and guests.
‘ They have two super facilities in Kilcuan, Co Galway and Cois Cuain, in Wexford,’ said the committee spokesperson.
‘ They each offer different opportunities and both facilities provide friendship weeks during the summer,’ he added.
The organisers were very happy with the success of the event and they thanked all of the people who participated.
They also expressed gratitude to the volunteers and bike marshals who helped ensure the safety of the participants and other road users while the run was taking place.
Words of thanks were also conveyed to the event’s sponsors including J Ryan Haulage, Alan Morrissey’s Pub, Cassagh, the Horse & Hound, Ballinaboola, and Max Power.