Friday 21st February saw a whole generation of Old Clongownians come together to do their part for the Jack Kavanagh Trust Fund. With ‘Fight For Jack’ having sold out a week previously following a relentless campaign through social media, it lived up to its billing as one of the most hyped charity occasions of the year and raised over €45,000 in the process!
The energy in Dandelion Bar & Nightclub was something to behold as each bout went right to the wire. Following six weeks of intensive training, 28 competitors gave it their all in front of a crowd of 750 people, while many more joined as the night marched into the early hours!
Notable celebrities such as Brian O’Driscoll, Ruby Walsh, George Hook and Niall Horan (of ‘One Direction’) had rallied behind the idea in recent weeks, while various newspapers from the Limerick Leader to The Irish Times also helped to raise awareness of Jack’s story. At one point during the week before the eveny #fight4jack was ranked as the highest trending tweet in Ireland!
Furthermore, our own residentsuperstars Mr. Tom ‘The Tank Engine’ Carroll and Mr. Patrick ‘The Postman’ Collins put their own considerable weight behind the effort by donning sumo suits for a novelty contest during the interval.
However, although ‘Fight For Jack’ was a rip-roaring success, ultimately Jack’s battle has many more rounds to go. Please keep an eye on jackkavanaghtrust.com for future events, including the much talked about Jesuit v Holy Ghost schools’ match on March 20th in Donnybrook (see below for details) or donate by following this link:
http://www.jackkavanaghtrust.com/donate-now.asp.
Mr Richard McElwee
Ignatian v Spiritan Barbarians
Regardless of the result of the Senior Cup Final, players from both Clongowes and Blackrock will face one another again just four days later in the company of their respective Ignatian and Spiritan confrères Belvedere, Gonzaga, St. Michael’s, St. Mary’s and Templeogue Colleges in a fundraiser for the Jack Kavanagh Trust.
In a game that will resonate greatly with Ross O’Carroll-Kelly fans, rivals will combine to form two Barbarian’s-like teams who will try to outscore each other. A similar match was played in 2004 in aid of another spinal injury victim. Rob Kearney, Johnny Sexton and Kevin McLoughlin each played that day. Will this match also showcase some of our future Internationals?
Tickets are available from the participating schools, Ticketmaster and Lifestyle sports outlets in Donnybrook, Dundrum, Carrickmines and Mary Street. For more information call 086 8158879 or visit: