It sounds like a great weekend doesn’t it? Watching 2,000 odd athletes run about Athlone in wet suits, while soaking up the fun (hopefully ), spending the day with the family, and enjoying some good entertainment.
This year’s triAthlone and TriFest promise to bring a fun filled weekend to the Midlands. With artists such as Mundy and The Blizzards, the big race on the Saturday and a fun family day on the Sunday it’s shaping up to be a great weekend. From Friday July 17 to Sunday July 19 prepare to see the Midlands town turn into a mecca for both sport and music fans.
But it’s not just about us having fun. There’s also a huge charitable side to things. This year TriAthlone organisers have picked four charities to benefit from the race: Respect, Children's Hospital Crumlin, Camara, and Croi. Charities picked by participants when they registered for the triathlon have been busy raising money ever since.
Croí is a heart charity dedicated to pursuing and attaining the highest level of cardiovascular health care for the people of the West of Ireland. They support and develop initiatives across all areas of cardiac care, both in-hospital and in the community, with the prevention of heart disease being foremost among their objectives. All their activities are funded entirely from the proceeds of fundraising events, voluntary contributions, and donations. For more information log on to http://www.croi.ie/.
The Children's Hospital Crumlin is an acute paediatric teaching hospital with 248 beds, employing over 1,500 staff. It is Ireland's largest paediatric hospital and is responsible for the provision of the majority of tertiary care service for children including the national centre for cardiac surgery and haematology/oncology, major burns, medical genetics and medical research for childhood illnesses. The Children's Medical and Research Foundation is dedicated to the improvement of children’s health. Their function is to inspire and support the philanthropic spirit in individuals and organisations. They invest contributions in outstanding pediatric care, research, and education to help children at Our Lady's, and throughout Ireland. For more information log on to https://www.cmrf.org/.
Since 1892, The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul have worked hard to provide care, education, and training for people with an intellectual disability through Respect. They provide a seamless partnership of care for people from infancy right through to old age. The work is ultimately about people, their dignity, and their quality of life. They have the responsibility of caring for 2,300 people, 800 of whom are in full-time residential care, with 1,500 attending specialist centres on a daily basis.
For more information log on to www.respect.ie
Camara is a registered Irish cahrity located in The Digital Hub and staffed primarily by volunteers. They take in second hand computers that have been discarded by organisations and individuals, reburbish them, and send them to schools and colleges in sub sahara Africa. They also send out groups of volunteers to train African teachers in basic computer literacy and more specialised technology areas, and produce computer training materials and educational multimedia in areas such as HIV/Aids and gender equality.
TriAthlone and TriFest aren’t just about us having fun, and athletes showing how fit they are, but to raise money for a good cause. But it’s mostly about us having a bit of fun!
