Mullingar Half Marathon crew hand over €33,000 to TEAM
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Bill Collentine (Mullingar Tidy Towns), Eileen Martin (Aon Insurance), Murty Hanly (race director), Martin Marshal (TEAM), Robert McGivney (TEAM chairperson), Colm McHugh, Robert Troy, TD, Linda Magee, Mary Savage Kennedy, Terry McCague, and Garda Brian Stone.Image 2 of 3
TEAM chairperson Robert McGivney accepting a cheque from Mullingar Half Marathon committee member Deputy Robert Troy.Image 3 of 3
Half Marathon committee members Bertie Dunne, Eileen Martin AON Insurances (race sponsors) Murty Hanly, Martin Marshall, Robert McGivney (Chairperson of TEAM), Ashling Coleman, Robert Troy, Declan Leonard, Linda Magee & Roger NicholsonHomeless charity TEAM said their doors “wouldn’t be open” without local support as they accepted a €33,000 cheque from the Mullingar Half Marathon committee last week.
The run took place on its traditional St Patrick’s Day date last year and 1,800 participants represented every county in Ireland.
Money raised from the half marathon, which included registration fees and sponsorship, was presented to TEAM at a ceremony in the Annebrook House Hotel on Thursday, last December 7.
Speaking at the presentation, the charity’s chairperson Robert McGivney said how vital the money was in keeping their service active.
“It keeps the doors open, we do get good funding from the HSE and the council but there is always a shortfall,” he told the Westmeath Examiner.
“The board doesn’t get any finances from this, it goes directly to our services and helping the women and children.”
TEAM operate a homeless shelter called Teach Fáilte in Mullingar, he continued: “We look after women and children who are homeless and no matter how you become homeless, it can be traumatic,” said Mr McGivney.
“We cater for about 13 women and 17 or 18 children. Some people are there for over a year and some are there for just a few months. We’re very proud of our service.”
Race director Murty Hanly said the first Mullingar Half Marathon was in 2015, and it has been going since, bar one cancelled race during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“This year is our ninth year to run it, we had a dip in numbers after Covid, but it’s coming back up and the income for the charity is still strong – which is our main objective,” he said.
“What we set out to do with this was to raise money for charity, to promote Mullingar as a great location, and to get people out running.
“I think we’ve achieved that in the last few years and that’s thanks to the huge effort by the committee and our volunteers.”
About 50 volunteers are needed to operate the race every year, according to Mr Hanly.
He also thanked sponsors of the race down, particularly AON Insurance for “their generous contributions down through the years”.
Deputy Robert Troy, a member of the half-marathon committee since its foundation, said registration is now open for next year’s race.
“We want to build on the successes over the last number of years with our half marathon in 2024 so we can continue to fund a very worthwhile charity here,” he said.
“We’re giving lots of people from Mullingar and the surrounding areas the chance to get out and participate in this half marathon and we hope everyone can promote it as widely as possible. “You could buy an entry for someone in your family or a friend this Christmas if you can’t do it yourself, we’d love to get as much support as we can this year.”
• Entry for this year’s race, on March 17, 2024, can be purchased online now for a cost of €40 per person.