€1MILLION THANK YOUS
COUPLE BLOWN AWAY BY SUCCESS OF BREAST CANCER FUNDRAISER
BLACKROCK couple Niall Carroll and Cara McAdam can’t quite believe the success of their 100km in 30 days challenge which is set to raise at least €1million for Breast Cancer Ireland.
The fund-raiser has captured the imagination of people not just around Ireland but in 34 countries worldwide who have signed up to walk or run 100k in the month of June.
Niall launched the challenge in support of his wife Cara who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and the couple decided that they wanted the money to go to Breast Cancer Ireland to fund a research fellowship and to the new Breast Cancer Centre being opened at Beaumont Hospital later this year.
While they initially dreamt that the event might raise €100,000, they never imagined that it would snowball to become the success it is. Their efforts have resulted in a sea of pink T-shirts being seen on the highways and byways of Ireland and the campaign has got the backing of leading sport stars and celebrities at home and abroad.
WHEN Blackrock businessman Niall Carroll launched the 100km in 30 Days challenge in aid of Breast Cancer Ireland at the beginning of the month, he set himself a target of raising €100,000. Now the initiative is within a whisper of raising an amazing €1million.
Having organised a fun 100km in 30 days challenge in the local community for a number of years, Niall and his wife Cara McAdam (pictured), who was diagnosed with breast cancer just before Christmas 2019, decided that they wanted to raise funds for Breast Cancer Ireland.
Niall admits that he is surprised and overwhelmed with the fantastic response commenting: ‘It’s incredible what has been achieved together and we cannot thank everyone enough for getting behind the campaign and for helping Cara and I to make a difference to women diagnosed with breast cancer.’
‘When we started out we thought getting €100,000 would be outrageous and that it would make a big difference,’ he continues. ‘ But this is going to make a massive difference.’
While the plan was to get one thousand people walking or running, over 14,500 people from every county in Ireland and from 34 countries around the world have registered to take part in the challenge which sees participants aim to run, walk or wheel 100km during the month of June.
With just a week to go the PinkArmy has already raised over €900,000 and all monies raised will go directly to Breast Cancer Ireland to fund research programmes in the hope that it will lead to breakthroughs in treatment options. It will also fund new state of the art imaging equipment at the new Breast Research Centre which due to open at Beaumont Hospital in the Autumn of 2021.
‘Cara is a biology teacher at the De La Salle and is big into science and research so it was important that the money will go into research which will eliminate the need for women to go through really harsh treatments involving chemotherapy,’ explains Niall.
Both Niall and Cara, who celebrated their wedding anniversary last week, have been donning the distinctive pink t-shirts which all participants get when they sign up, and clocking up their kilometers.
‘ There are over 3,200 people who have already completed their 100km and are still going as they are enjoying it so much, while the rest are well on the way to logging their 100km by the end of the month.’ The couple, who have two young children, Jack (4) and Laura (2), are overwhelmed by the support they have received, especially in their native county, where 3,500 people are taking part.
Cara is also keen to raise awareness about breast cancer and credits another young Blackrock woman Donna Farrell, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. It was thanks to her sending out a reminder on social media to her friends about the importance of being breast aware, that Cara decided to go to her GP and ask for a mammogram.
They are also moved by the amazing stories being shared by the participants, by the many cancer survivors as well as by those going through treatment who are doing the challenge. While Eamonn O Muircheartaigh set an unbeatable achievement by walking his 100km in just one day, there have been other remarkable stories.
‘Roison Soraghan (nee O’Hanlon) ran from Blackrock to Carlingford at the weekend, while Mark McDonnell, a advanced medical technician, walked 35km home from Castleblayney so that he would complete his 100km,’ says Niall. Blackrock resident Geraldine Rogers, who had 72 years of age is one of the oldest diabetics in the country, is also doing her 100km.
It’s not just the walkers and runners who deserve credit, as a band of over 90 volunteers are busy packing the pink t-shirts in a warehouse off the Coe’s Road.
With a host of famous sports stars and celebrities giving their backing to the challenge, most recently Liverpool FC players Steve Gerrard and Gary McAllister, the fund raiser is hitting the headlines, with Niall and Cara being featured on RTE and Ireland AM, while Niall has done interviews for Newstalk and Today FM.
With the challenge finishing next Tuesday, June 30, Niall says that in normal circumstances they would have organised a big hooley in Blackrock to mark its success.
Now, inspired by a photo sent to them by the Stafford family from Wexford, featuring eleven women, three of whom are breast cancer survivors, in their pink t-shirts, they are asking participants to get together in groups of not more than 200, keeping their social distance, and take photos to mark their achievement.
Naturally, the remarkable effort of Niall, Cara, and all their supporters is greatly appreciated by Breast Cancer Ireland.
CEO Aisling Hurley comments: ‘ The 100k in 30 Days challenge is a phenomenal achievement that shows the power of community support and the desire to change the dial positively on this disease into the future. Unfortu
nately, everyone knows someone that has been affected by breast cancer with 1 in 9 women being diagnosed in their lifetime and with over 3,100 new cases presenting annually. Continuous investment in research is vital in helping to speed up research discovery and uncover new targeted therapies that will affect better treatment outcomes for patients. The funds raised will help in transforming this disease, from often being fatal, to treatable illnesses that can be maintained long-term’