Ashford Castle staff run socially distanced relay for charity

Staff at Ashford Castle, the award winning five star hotel and resort in Cong, have put their best foot forward to support children’s cancer charity, Cancer Fund for Children.

The team led by Ashford Castle’s general manager, Niall Rochford (pictured), hosted their first Ashford Estate socially distanced 26K relay to raise funds to help Cancer Fund for Children build Daisy Lodge, a new therapeutic short break facility for children diagnosed with cancer and their families.

Knowing how the current Covid-19 crisis has had a huge impact on charities across Ireland Niall and his team, which included Peter Fergus, manager of the Lodge at Ashford Castle, and Paula Skakelum, executive pastry chef at the Estate, recruited 13 volunteers to each run 2km and have raised a fantastic €1,635.

Speaking about Ashford Castle’s fundraising efforts Belinda Kearns, Cancer Fund for Children’s Relationship Manager said: “We have been blown away by the support we have received from the staff at Ashford Castle who despite the lockdown restrictions were determined to raise funds.

“The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on charities at a time when vulnerable children and families need our support more than ever.

“Each day we spend at home, during these challenging times, another family in Ireland will receive the devastating news that their child has cancer.

"Children are going through aggressive cancer treatment and their families face additional worries about delays in treatment plans and further separation due to isolation restrictions.

“Our families tell us that they couldn’t cope without Cancer Fund for Children’s support and demand for therapeutic short breaks is only going to increase throughout this crisis and we remain committed to raising funds to build new therapeutic short break centre in Mayo.”

Find out more about Cancer Fund for Children and their plans to build a new therapeutic short break centre for families whose lives have been devastated by childhood cancer at https://cancerfundforchildren.ie or contact Belinda Kearns e: belinda@cancerfundforchildren.com to get involved.