This article is from page 61 of the 2011-04-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 61 JPG
ONE man, one idea.
That’s what comes to the mind of many of the late Howard Flannery’s old friends when remembering his great crusade – his unique twin-track approach when it came to getting his vision up and running.
One part of it was to get people out running; the other to create a clinic in Ennis for people with special needs. One man, with one idea that came to pass in quite a remarkable way.
You have the clinic in Barefield; you have scores of people out running – cycling and walking too. All beating to the Clare Crusaders drum, early in the morning, late at night, any time.
And, in honour of this achievement, Crusaders present and past, not to mind hundreds of other runners and walkers, will gather on Easter Monday for the inaugural Ennis 10 – Howard Flannery Memorial.
“It’s a 10k and a 10m,” says Frank Landy, one of the chief organisers, “and its for everyone, from runners to walkers. When a group of us got together last October we said to ourselves, why not run a race to remember Howard by and run it every year.
“What better way to remember this remarkable man than by organising a good race, raising a few bob for char ity, letting people have a good bit of craic. That encapsulates Howard Flannery in a nut-shell. We’ll get more of Howard’s spirit between 10am and 12.30pm on Easter Monday than you would running ten or 15 marathons,” adds Landy.
“We have had a core group of people involved. Myself, Frank Cassidy, Tom Gleeson and Paddy Flannery. There wouldn’t be a Clare Crusaders clinic without Howard Flannery. People wouldn’t be out running but for Howard. People who would never have dreamt of doing marathons have marathons run. It has changed the life of the runners, the cyclists and the walkers. The Clare Crusaders are a community on to themselves,” continues Landy.
The Ennis 10 – Howard Flannery Memorial will start and finish opposite Ennis CBS, taking a route out by Roslevan, the 10m will pass the Clare Crusaders clinic at the five mile stage while 10k runners/walkers will take a shorter route back to Ennis.
“We’re promoting it as a big community event,” says Landy. “It’s not that people have lost their community spirit, but it’s that people haven’t been given the opportunity to show their support for the community and show their support for the clinic.
“We will have everybody from sandwich makers to people giving out water. It’s a huge operation and it will remind everyone what Howard set up and how far we’ve got.”