Longford community come together to remember Cian Gray at his Memorial Run

The Cian Gray Memorial Run, which took place on Sunday, August 3 at the Dromard GAA grounds, brought a community together to honour his memory.

In attendance were family, old classmates, teachers, friends and the broader community who wanted to participate in this important event.

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Many of his classmates helped with selling the raffle tickets, selling air fresheners, guiding people to the registration, or helping with the donation buckets. Also helping was the local Gardai, to make sure that the road was safe.

“It was overwhelming that the crowd came at around 12 or shortly after it. We did think whether we went down a lot, and then this crowd came out of nowhere and flooded the place. It’s amazing because we were blessed with the weather too,” said Clare Scott, who was involved in the organising.

Clare estimated that there were over 220 vehicles involved as they ran out of all the registration stickers. Final figures are yet to be counted.

Inside the GAA building were raffle tickets for sale, as well as a buffet with various refreshments, sandwiches and treats for everybody to enjoy. The grounds were completely full before the vehicles departed to follow the designated route.

Balloons were released by the organisers as Cian had a moment’s silence before the participants crossed the road to the field which was used to park all the tractors. Registration began from 11:30am, and while these preparations took place, music was over the speakers, as well as a BBQ.

A great deal of support for the family’s efforts were evident that Cian’s life has held a lasting impact, and the fourth memorial run was welcoming and respectful.

The committee, during the speeches, hopes to reach €100,000 overall in donations to the Longford Hospice for its fifth year next year, and thanked the GAA, volunteers, the Donohoe family for the field and the catering of Dial-a-Chef for helping make the event a success.

Safety was paramount to the instructions given before the tractors headed to Ballinamuck, Drumlish, Glenview Bar, Aughnacliffe and Arvagh.

Clare said that the Gardai had been brilliant for the event. She said that the Dromard GAA were fantastic because of using their facilities, such as the electricity.

“We can't do it without our marshals,” she added.

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The marshals could be identified with their fluorescent jackets, as well as carrying buckets for donations.

Overall, the run showed the longstanding bond that the community has, and was once again a success.