Kerry Bikers get defib for Ballybunion beach

LIVES are safer on the beaches of Ballybunion thanks to a group of Kerry bikers and surfers who presented the community with a defibrillator.

Last July, members of the Kerry Biking School travelled around the coast visiting all the lighthouses along the way, in aid of the Kerry Surf Lifesaving Club which has been fundraising for a defibrillator.

Owner of the biking school, Ger McCarthy, along with five of his motorcycling friends, took on the challenge and were delighted to present the defibrillator to Kerry County Council recently.

“It was a great fundraiser idea,” Ger said, adding: “We started at Tarbert, drove up west, north, carried on from there and finished in Fenit. We also went off the Donegal coast for a night.” Ger set up Kerry Biking School 11 years ago and has held an annual motorbike fundraiser every year since.

“It’s a very important thing to do. It’s always in aid of different local charities and voluntary groups each year,” he said. “This year, the idea for fundraising for a defibrillator came from Leo Hilliard, who is a lifeguard and a motorcyclist.

“We do it for the good of the locality and to make a difference to someone’s life.”

Photo by Marie Rohan Pictured at the presentation overlooking Ballybunion’s stunning Ladies’ Beach are Leo Hilliard, Dermot Keane, Mairead O ‘Neill, Rochelle O’Riordan, Damian Meehan, Mark Mulvihill, John Griffey, Katie Hilliard, Niall O’Sullivan, Ger McCarthy.

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