Garda 'Camino' in aid of Little Blue Heroes starts in Enfield

One hundred Gardai will set off from Enfield on Monday on a sponsored walk along the royal Canal Greenway for the Little Blue Heroes Charity.

The event, entitled “El Camino del Garda Centenario” is part of the Garda Centenary Celebrations and will mark An Garda Síochána’s 100th year of working for, with and among the community.

It will also coincide with the 175th anniversary of Black ’47, where 1490 people walked from Strokestown in Roscommon, along the Royal Canal to famine ships in Dublin.

The event involves a sponsored walk from Enfield to Clondara Harbour in County Longford, over three days, along the Royal Canal Greenway. The distance is approximately 100km and participants will walk approximately 33km per day.

As a mark of respect, the walkers will hold eighty nine seconds of silence, before the walk commences, to remember the eighty nine members of An Garda Síochána who lost their lives serving An Garda Síochána and their country.

Along with the 89 seconds of silence for these members, it is proposed to dedicate a single kilometre to each of them. The countdown will start at kilometre number 11 from Enfield and finalise at the finish line at Cloondara Harbour.

It is also proposed to hold the same mark of respect for the Little Blue Heroes and the Little Blue Heroes who have passed away will not be forgotten.

It is proposed to mark a three kilometre stretch of the walk for each Little Blue Hero who has passed. Updates on this mark of respect will uploaded on the El Camino del Garda Facebook page with the Little Blue Heroes name and a photo of the scenery.

Each walker is covering all of their own costs and every cent raised will go directly to the Little Blue Heroes Foundation. Little Blue Heroes Foundation is a not-for-profit charity operated entirely by volunteers made up of Garda members/staff, retired Garda members, their families, friends and civic minded people from communities. It aims to help families in need from local communities in Ireland who have children undergoing long-term medical treatment for serious illness.

Anyone wishing to support or get involved in this most worthwhile charity and sociable event, please contact Garda Daniel Eccles, Santry Garda Station, Santry, Dublin 9 on; daniel.c.eccles@garda.ie or on 0858872120. Donations may be made now by clicking on; www.idonate.ie/GardaCentenario