GREAT SHOW OF SUPPORT FOR LOCAL MEMORIAL EVENT
THE ORGANISERS of a memorial tractor run have expressed delight at the success of the event and said they were overwhelmed by the response they received from local businesses and members of the community.
The inaugural Brian Fortune Memorial Vintage Run took place in Sunday, June 24, and was organised by members of Mr Fortune’s family. His sister, Debbie, spoke to this newspaper and said everyone involved was delighted with how it went.
Mr Fortune died in tragic circumstances fourand-a-half years ago and Debbie said the family wanted to do something in his honour while also raising money for a good cause.
She spoke to her local councillor in Glenmore, Fidelis Doherty, and her neighbour, PJ Doherty, who is involved in Tullogher-Rosbercon Vintage Club, and the decision was made to organise a tractor run in aid of Pieta House.
The route saw the participants travel from Glenmore GAA pitch down to the village and over the N25 fly-over before making their way to Slieverue. From there they made their way back towards the starting point over the Mountain Road.
The members of the vintage club were very willing to help out and the fact the money raised from the event will go towards Pieta House made it even more enjoyable for all concerned.
‘Brian wasn’t a member of the club but he was a farmer and was very interested in tractors and machinery so we thought it would be a good idea to organise a tractor run in his memory,’ said Debbie.
She expressed gratitude to the vintage club for their advice and help and also to businesses like Trudie’s Kitchen and Ashgrove Kitchens for their support.
She also thanked the Glen Bar, for hosting the event, and Hopper Dolan Insurances ‘for their generosity’.
It was truly family-run event with Debbie’s husband, Stephen Fennell, working alongside her and their two respective families in making sure everything ran smoothly on the day.
The marshals who ensured everyone was safe on the road also gave their time free-of-charge.
‘We helped out the vintage club during their field day event by providing a teleporter for one of their competitions and I suppose we’d like to develop more collaboration and help between us and the club going forward,’ said Debbie.
‘Unfortunately, a lot of families go through what we went through and we just wanted to give something back,’ she added.
‘Pieta House does great work and if we could save even one family from going through what we went through by doing this then it was worth it and we would be very happy.’
She also said the show of support for the event from within the community around Glenmore and New Ross was overwhelming for the family.
‘We couldn’t believe the level of support it received and we really are thankful to everyone who helped.’
She paid tribute to Paddy Murphy and the committee of Glenmore GAA club for the use of their grounds for registration and refreshments.
The glorious weather on the day of the event was also significant as Debbie explained: ‘ The weather was fantastic and it was remarkable because it was the very same type of day that Brian was born in 1976.’
Mr Fortune was from Shanbough, New Ross, and the high regard in which he was held within the community was underlined by level of support given to the memorial run.