Ratoath GAA charity purple run a success

Ratoath GAA club senior men's and women's teams were busy fundraising over May bank holiday weekend.

What started in 2019 as an idea to raise funds for a charity close to the club’s heart, ended up becoming one of the greatest fundraising and community bonding projects the village has ever witnessed.

The idea of raising funds for CF Ireland on behalf of Ronan “Pep” Cahill who tragically passed away in 2019 and Julie Crowe, for whom the ladies teams chose to raise funds for the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, was the driving force.

The challenge was set for the players and the community combined to cover 10,000km over the May Bank Holiday weekend with a €20k target.

On the Friday morning, it all began in earnest at 6am. By the end of the first day over 3,000km had been run by the enthusiastic young men and women of the parish and the fund stood at over €11k.

As excitement was building around the village, people rallied to the cause; the local community was humming as it awoke from the ever hanging cloud of Covid.

The village became awash with purple, the colour representing the two charities.

The weekend was a family event, a club event, a community event sharing stories and memories about two people that were so fondly remembered.

Everybody was invited - and everybody joined in.

By the end of the weekend, the times slowed as the hurlers, footballers and camogie players surpassed the 10,000km mark and marched towards an incredible €25k raised over the weekend.

As well as raising funds for these two brilliant charities, the May Bank Holiday weekend of 2021, raised the spirits of everybody in Ratoath.