Prendergasts hit €250k ‘Mark’
IT’S been five years since the tragic passing of 34-year-old Mark Prendergast after a lengthy battle with testicular cancer, but his name lives on through a wonderful cause and this week his friends and family, including many from Ballylongford, were among those to celebrate an extraordinary milestone.
The father-of-three – who spent his childhood years in Ballylongford, home parish of his father, Eugene – passed away in June 2012 having been diagnosed with cancer in the mid-noughties.
Following his death a small committee made up of friends and family formed the ‘Make your Mark on Cancer’ group which began its fund-raising ventures with a charity walk in which 70 people climbed Carrauntoohill on a wet and windy July day in 2012. Since then, the group’s success has been extraordinary.
Mark’s brother, Damien, said north Kerry remains a second home to the County Cork-based family given the number of aunts, uncles and cousins they have in Ballylongford, and there will have been much celebration in north Kerry this week after the group passed the €250,000 mark in terms of the funds it has raised.
“We have a small committee, with many more friends and family involved in a wider capacity; we couldn’t do it without everyone’s involvement,” Damien said.
“Our main fundraiser each year is the Make your Mark on Cancer walk, held in July between Ballincollig and Bandon, and it’s been going since 2013. We also have other fundraisers, and we’ve been amazed at the success we’ve had in raising funds for the Mercy Hospital Foundation, who gave great care to Mark.
“When we started out we didn’t have anything like €250,000 as a target, but as time went by and our success kept growing, that figure came into view for us,” he added.
Damien thanked everyone who has helped the group since its foundation after proceeds for events in 2017, totalling almost €53,000, were presented to the Mercy Hospital Foundation.