Offaly Camino Canal Way Walk proves a great success

With the date brought forward in the year this year the sixth annual Offaly Camino Canal Way Walk took place on Sunday, February 5 to celebrate St. Brigid's Day. 

The walk was in aid of Self Help Africa and at present close to €20,000 for the charity's work in Africa has been raised.

The organisers would like to thank everybody who took part and helped raise funds for Self Help Africa, especially the many participants from many parts of the midlands and beyond and the children from various clubs and schools in Offaly who helped raise funds and walked.

The event had a great turnout of participants and some extra four-legged friends who completed the 22km walk along the canal from Tullamore to Croghan with the final few steps up Croghan Hill where St. Brigid's Holy Mass was said by Fr. Greg Corcoran.
Everyone finished the Canal Way Walk in plenty of time to be at Mass at 2pm and to celebrate their great achievement of having completed the 6th annual charity Offaly Canal Camino Way walk in aid of the work of Self Help Africa. The canal way walk brought the participants through the beautiful countryside with walkers admiring the colourful fields and impressive views.
After a long morning everyone reached the last leg of the route making their way through the village of Croghan to Peter Moore's farm  where everyone had a lovely spread of babecue food with a much-needed hot soup, hot drinks and burgers as well as chocolate crepes and cold beverages supplied by the Molloy family and residents of Croghan village. 

Laz Molloy and Ronan Scully some of the event's organisers along with his wife Frances and his daughter Aislinn and Fr. Greg represented the cause with heart-warming speeches.

Specially blessed wreaths were left with a prayer and blessings at the Fiona Pender Memorial and the Aisling Murphy Memorial as the walkers walked past along the canal and said quiet prayers at each of the memorials.
Ronan Scully of Self Help Africa thanked all those who had supported the 6th annual charity walk, especially Laz Molloy and his family and all the committee members.

Ronan also thanked the people of all ages who participated in the walk and people and volunteers who helped out in any way to make it such a successful event.

He thanked Sean Rowe who organised a head shave and beard shave on the top of Croghan Hill on the day and raised funds for Self Help Africa.

If you would like to support the work of Self Help Africa or organise a fundraiser for the charitiy's work in 18 countries in Africa and the developing world please contact Ronan at ronan.scully@selfhelpafrica.org or go to www.selfhelpafrica.org or phone (087) 6189094