Jigsaw's Grand Motorcycle Tour comes to Meath
The nationwide, 72 hour motorcycle tour in aid of Jigsaw, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health in Ireland kicked off on the morning of Wednesday June 11th with Meath being one of their first stops.
The group of 40 motorcyclists arrived at the Jigsaw Meath facility in Navan this morning.
The aim of the tour is to fundraise and raise awareness for the mental health facility, which offers its services to those aged 12 to 25.
The tour is organised by former Jigsaw facilities and properties officer, Damian Sheridan and Daryl D’Art. The tour consists of dedicated motorcyclists cruising around the country and stopping at each of the 14 Jigsaw centres in Ireland.
Olympic Hero Kellie Harrington attended the launch of the Grand Tour in aid of Jigsaw.
The Double Olympic Champion came to lend support to the 40 motorcycle riders traveling the country and the launch took place at Joe Duffy BMW Motorrad the morning of Wednesday June 11th, marking the start of the 3 day tour.
Organiser Damian Sheridan told The Meath Chronicle that ‘we’re not only trying to raise money for Jigsaw but trying to raise awareness of the incredible work that they do.'
'I have my own experience of both working for Jigsaw, which was probably one of the best companies I’ve ever worked for, and my own personal experiences with Jigsaw.'
'My own daughter had a serious accident last year. It really affected her anxiety and she was really suffering. We got her into Jigsaw in Tallaght and the service really brought her back to the person she was before the accident.'
'Jigsaw has made a huge difference to our lives and this is my way of giving back to Jigsaw to say thank you for the incredible experience of working with you and for giving my daughter the support she needed when she needed it.'
'The government needs to pump funding into this so there is a Jigsaw service in every county in Ireland.'
The service manager of the Navan Jigsaw centre Derek Hanway highlighted how important fundraisers like this are for charities such as Jigsaw.
'We’re very busy at the Meath centre. There are about 500 young people we have supported this year alone.'
'We do receive HSE funding but there is a gap and fundraisers like The Grand Tour are a huge help to us.'
The event is sponsored by Joe Duffy BMW and Carole Nash Ireland, and would not be possible without this support.
Jigsaw offers free, confidential therapy and mental health support to young people, their families, and those who work with them, both online and at their services nationwide.
Demand for Jigsaw's services continues to grow, making fundraising efforts like The Grand Tour 2025 even more necessary.
Online donations can be made here.