Longford's Shane Brennan 5K raises in excess of €200,000 for local charities

There’s a lot to be said for spending St Stephen's Day doing something productive, especially if that something is also raising money for three incredible charities.

The annual Shane Brennan 5K Race in Newtownforbes is set to take place on Friday, December 26 and with hundreds expected to turn out for the event, it’s guaranteed to be a fun day out regardless of whether you’re there to compete or to just enjoy a walk.

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Anyone hoping to beat their personal best will be pleased to hear the race will be professionally timed for each person.
Afterwards all participants can enjoy refreshments in the Clonguish GAA Community Centre.

Attracting participants from all over the country, this year marks the 18th annual Shane Brennan 5K run / walk.

Speaking about the event, organiser Liam Madden explained how it first came about.

“I had just set up the Longford Special Olympics and like every group we were struggling financially and wondering how we’d run the show. Fortuitously, I met up with Fr Ciaran McGovern, who had a passion for running, and I had bemoaned the fact that I hadn't got some people to enter the Longford marathon and do some sponsorship with me. This was when Fr Ciaran suggested I run my own race. So we came together to organise it.”

Liam added, “A young college student, Shane Brennan, had sadly passed away in 2005 following an accident. It was a huge loss to us here in the local community, so we decided to call the race the Shane Brennan 5K Race. We approached his parents JohnJoe and Margaret, and they were delighted by the idea. We're on the go almost twenty years now and it has given Shane’s family some comfort to know that his name is remembered. It's still very much out there in the community.”

Such is the nationwide reputation of the Shane Brennan 5K that last year, a staggering 700 people turned out at the start line.

Since its inception, the event has raised in excess of €200,000 for local charities, and this year, three volunteer groups will benefit - local defibrillator group the Clonguish Community First Responders, the Lough Rea Sub Aqua Club, and the Longford Scuba Divers.

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Explains Liam, “Sometimes people maybe don't appreciate the work of the sub aqua groups. Unfortunately they’ve been asked to attend tragedies down through the years and retrieve bodies after accidents. That means so much to families. This work is done voluntarily and at considerable cost because these guys have a lot of gear and professional training behind them. In terms of defibrillators, it's all about saving lives. God knows when we might need one. We'd really appreciate people supporting these local charities because you never know just when we might need them.”

For more information, please visit Shane Brennan 5K on Facebook.