This article is from page 32 of the 2008-08-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
AUGUST may have been a wash-out, but one hardy group of cyclists have been out on the road braving the ele- ments. For the past two months the Ennis Parish Team and Friends have travelled the highways and byways of Clare through wind and rain as they prepare for the fifth annual Ennis Parish charity cycle.
The 19 strong team will hope that all the hard work pays off when they set of from Ennis next Saturday (Au- Paul mel ODE
The 70 mile route takes the team from Ennis Cathedral to Limerick, on to Birdhill, across to Killaloe and home to Ennis.
On arrival back in Ennis, the cy- clists will head to the Kingfisher Let-
sure Centre in the West County Hotel for a well earned swim and jacuzzi, as Kingfisher have very generously allowed all cyclists the use of their facilities.
This year the proceeds of their ef- forts will go to Cuan an Chlair, the new housing and daycare centre which will be built on 15.5 acres of land at Cahercalla, donated by the Diocese of Killaloe. Cuan an Chlair Phase | will see the development of a daycare centre to cater for 60 people daily and the construction of 12 in- dividual houses. This development is expected to cost €2 million.
Phase two will see the conversion of the old farm yard buildings, adjacent to Cahercalla Hospital to provide a café, meeting rooms, a garden and other appropriate facilities. It is esti-
mated that delivery of phase two will cost in the region of €1.5 million
A committee has been set up to oversee the project and they will be holding a number of fundraising events over the next year.
Previous cycles have raised money for the a variety of projects, includ- ing the restoration of the Cathedral spire. Last year, the Ennis parish team took to the road to highlght the work of Fr Jackie Sharpe, a Holy Ghost Missionary, who has worked in the African country of Gambia for over 42 years
The cyclists taking part are: Tik- ki Daly, Fr Martin Blake, Maura Brooks, Fr Damien Nolan, JJ Coun1- han, Fr Jerry Carey, Ed McMahon, Damian Lavin, Senan McDermott, Fr Tom Hogan, Paul Kelly, Fr John
Molloy, Kevin Keane, John Brody, John Casey, Mary Curley, Charlie O’Meara, Kevin Duffy and Kieran Moroney.
You can support the team by col- lectiing a sponsorship card from the Parish Office or by donating spon- sorship to the cyclists as they set of Oye AeterPUM OLED UTA Ys
The cyclists depart from Ennis Ca- thedral, Saturday an 9am and hope for plenty of support to see them off.