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In order to help raise awareness of mental health issues, a charity tractor run and challenge will take place on Easter Sunday in Co Galway.
The tractor run will start at McCarthy’s in Kilbeacanty, with registration from 12.00pm on the day. The entry fee is €20 per tractor with all proceeds going to the South Galway Jigsaw Network.
The event is being organised by Declan Donohoe, agri haulier and cousin of Galway hurler Niall Donohoe who died by suicide in 2013.
On the Kilbeacanty Tractor Run Facebook page, Declan said: ‘’I was thinking of what could I do to raise awareness of mental health issues. Tractors are my business so I decided to organise a tractor run around Kilbeacanty, Gort and Beagh on Easter Sunday.
“It’s really just a day out for the community and for families to come out and enjoy themselves. I’m hoping that everyone around that has a tractor would come with us,” he said.
Declan said that Niall’s passing is with him every day and he “still can’t get [his] head around it”.
“A young man in the prime of his life doing everything he ever dreamed of playing for Galway in All-Irelands in front of 80,000 people, loved and idolised by so many.
“The effect that it has had on my family is so hard to describe and only people that have been in that circumstance can understand it."
Tractor dyno challenge
A tractor dyno challenge will also take place on the day, with tractors going up against each other to see which has the most power.
“This is an event that promises to be is a great crowd pleaser. We will have an Easter egg hunt in the hurling pitch and there will be a BBQ going all day as well as music in McCarthy’s bar," Declan said.
“We will also have a small auction that evening and I’ve been given a signed Galway jersey as one of the lots for the auction."
Jigsaw Galway
The proceeds of the tractor run go to Jigsaw Galway's South Galway Networking Group which runs workshops for clubs and schools in south Galway around mental health awareness.
Jigsaw has also set up an outreach programme in south Galway where a trained professional will meet anyone by appointment in Gort to talk about issues they might be having, this service has been available since September 2017.
"What we’re doing is only a small thing and it will be an enjoyable day for anyone who takes part or comes along," said Declan.
“But the most important thing is that people who might be struggling with their mental health know there are people they can talk to and that help is there for them, if only one family are spared the hardship and pain our family went through I would be happy."
Watch: West Cork tractor run one of the biggest in the country
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