Longford stop on journey Orlaith the Way to Donegal

A charity fundraising cycle called 'Orlaith the Way to Donegal' stopped off in Longford last Friday on its cross country trek.
The dedicated team of 56 cyclists and 12 support members from across England and Ireland departed from Pieta House Cork last Thursday (May 30, 2024) on their journey to Pieta House in Letterkenny, Donegal.

“The group cycled ‘Orlaith the way’ to the northwest of Ireland, arriving on Saturday 1st June 2024,” Anita Mollaghan a friend of the participants said of the event.
The cycle from Mizen Head to Malin Head was undertaken by six fundraising teams, and Longford man Anthony Gilleran heads up one of those teams. Anthony is the nephew of Mick Gilleran.
“In preparation, the teams endured weekly arduous training sessions (in all weather conditions) to ensure they were ready for the challenge ahead,” Anita told the Leader.

“There are a lot of Irish people taking part and a few of them are from Longford, which was why they wanted to make a stop at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park,” Anita said.
In the course of the trek the cyclists faced an elevation gain of 10,000 feet over the three days as they cover over 420km.
The team chose two charities to benefit from the funds raised from this event. Half of the money raised will go to Irish charity, Pieta House, who offer support to those in suicidal distress or engaging in self-harm.

The other half goes to UK based charity NICE – Centre for Movement disorders based in Birmingham, England who work with individuals who are impacted by a range of physical difficulties.

Anita said the charities are very deserving: “Both charities work so hard to help those in need of their services and the teams want to acknowledge the wonderful work they do by raising as much money as possible for them. NICE is particular supportive of Orlaith Quinn, a young girl with Longford connections, who the cycle is named after.”

The Longford stop is not an obvious choice when deciding a route from Cork to Donegal: “The group is made up of cyclists of mixed abilities. A few of them have Longford connections so that is why they made the stop at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park.”
Anita herself has Longford links as her father, Jack Griffin, is from just outside Newtownforbes. If you want to support the cyclists in their charity event you can go to www.givewheel.com and search ‘Orlaith the way to Donegal’.