By Michelle Crawley
MULLINGAR is the destination of the 7th annual Tomas Mulligan (TM) Cycle 2014 in aid of Pieta House. The cycle, named after the late Dublin footballer Tomas Mulligan, will see cyclists from across the country pedal 240 kilometre over the weekend from Dublin to Mullingar and back again. And amongst them will be Mullingar native, Matthew Coward, who is completing the cycle over the weekend.
Last year, 80 cyclists completed the TM Cycle from Dublin to Kilkenny and this year’s event looks set to be even bigger. This year the organisers are hoping for even more cyclists so that they can build on the €250,000 that has already been raised by the cycle since it began in 2008. All proceeds raised go to Pieta House, Ireland’s first community based centre for the intervention and prevention of suicide and self-harm.
Pieta House now has a total of nine centres throughout the country and provides a professional, one-to-one therapeutic service for those who are experiencing suicidal ideation or engaging in self-harm.
“Our vision is that no-one in Ireland should be more than 100 kilometres from a Pieta House centre and we are moving ever closer to that goal,” said Joan Freeman, CEO of Pieta House. “80% of our funding comes from public support and we are so grateful to fundraisers like the TM Cycle, which continue to raise vital funds for Pieta House. We’d like to encourage people to sign up for this fun cycle and we wish them the very best of luck,” she said.
ROUTE
Saturday’s route will see the cyclists depart from Drimnagh, Dublin, and travel through Maynooth, Athboy, Oldcastle and Castlepollard, before arriving in Mullingar. There will be three rest stops during the day to ensure that cyclists will never be cycling stretches longer than 35 kilometres without a break.
The Mayor of Mullingar will be at the Annebrook Hotel on Saturday to welcome the cyclists as they arrive at 5pm. The participants will attend a gala dinner and a great evening in Mullingar. Passersby on the street will be sure to notice that representatives of Pieta House will be on the street shaking buckets, handing out flyers about Pieta House and cheering along all the weary cyclists!
All sponsorship money will go directly to Pieta House, the centre for the prevention of suicide and self harm. Returning to Dublin, the cyclists will pass through Rochfortbridge and Rhode on Sunday, 10 August.
