Michael’s 9/11 jerseys effort has so far raised €7,400 for Dublin children’s hospice
A MAN with strong Sligo roots who took part in the rescue and recovery operation after the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001 has so far raised €7,400 for the LauraLynn hospice in Dublin, the only chidlren’s hospice in the country. And he is hoping that his novel fundraising effort will have netted €10,000 by the time he completes it this year. Michael Burke was born in the Bronx in New York but his father was from Tubbercurry and his mother from Charlestown and the family came back to live Tubbercurry when he was 14. He returned again to live and work in New
York when he was 20 and it was then he became a good friend of Kieran Gorman from Lavagh in south Sligo, who was one of the almost 3,000 people
TradeRAN who died in the attacks on the World
Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.
The 20th anniversary of those atrocities will be marked on September 11, this year.
Michael was a volunteer rescue worker at the scene of the carnage in New York, attending at
togetherBut the devastated site the following day with countless others to try help find survivorws and eventually clear the wreckage, which took many months to complete. Michael, who came back to Ireland and settled in Castleisland in County Kerry in 2005, has never forgotten what he witnessed at Ground Zero. At the end of last August as the 19th anniversary of the atrocity was edging closer, Michael Burke got an idea and teamed up with O’Neills Irish International Sports Company Limited (who produce most the GAA jerseys in Ireland) to produce commemorative 9/11 GAA jerseys as a fundraiser for Laura Lynn and other charities. He embarked on a 32-county mission across Ireland raising 9/11 awareness and funds for LauraLynn. By year’s end he had been to 20 counties and intends to do the remainder when he is free to travel again. Michael’s plan involves presenting a specially designed 9/11 O’Neill’s jersey to each county and have the county players there autograph it and raffle it to raise funds for a local charity of their choice. On his odyssey, Michael has worn a jersey which was autographed by many of the high profile GAA players he met on the road and this will be presented to LauraLynn.
So far Michael’s 9/11 memorial jersey project has raised €7,400 to date for LauraLynn and he’s hoping to reach the €10,000 goal.
“I’m hoping to get my total up to the €10,000 mark and I’m asking people to get behind the project for one final push,” he said.
Anyone who wants one can get in touch with Michael can email him at mtubbercurry6211@ yahoo.com.