Gardaí to cycle 500km in Spain to raise funds for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind

Sunday World

30-07-2025

The Garda Tour De Force consists of gardaí and friends who have been cycling annually since 1991 to raise funds for Irish charities.
Marion Lynch from Guide Dogs for the Blind with Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis, Ambassador Ion della Riva and Inspector Pat Duggan. Also in the picture are Guide Dogs Belle, Willow and Oakley. Picture: Frank McGrath
The Garda Tour De Force cycling group which has raised over €1 million for charities over the past three decades is about to get in the saddle for another fundraising push.
This year, the funds raised will be again donated to the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind charity.
Next month, the cyclists will embark on a 500km cycle from Cadi-Moixero National Park in the Pyrenees bordering Andorra and Spain, finishing in Barcelona, with the assistance of their counterparts in the Spanish Police.
Pictured at the launch of the Garda Tour de Force in aid of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind at the Spanish Ambassadors resident on Ailesbury Rd in Dublin, were Ambassador Ion della Riva along with Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis with Garda members who will partake in the charity cycle in Spain and staff from Irish Guide Dogs for the blind. Picture: Frank McGrath
The fundraiser was launched on Tuesday afternoon by Spanish ambassador to Ireland Ion de la Riva Guzmán de Frutos at his residence in Dublin 4 and was also attended by Assistant Garda Commissioner Angela Willis.
The Garda Tour De Force consists of gardaí and friends who have been cycling annually since 1991 to raise funds for Irish charities.
Last year, they raised almost €44,000 for Irish Guide Dogs For The Blind and almost €4,000 for a host of other charities.
On that occasion, 20 cyclists and support staff embarked on a 500km Spanish trip from Malaga to Seville in September raising a total of €47,770 – almost €8,000 more than their target.
Marion Lynch from Guide Dogs for the Blind with Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis, Ambassador Ion della Riva and Inspector Pat Duggan. Also in the picture are Guide Dogs Belle, Willow and Oakley. Picture: Frank McGrath
News in 90 Seconds - Wednesday, July 30
Among the beneficiaries have been Crumlin Children's Hospital, Debra Ireland, Aware, the Irish Heart Foundation, the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland and Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.
The Marie Keating Foundation, Laura Lynn, Age Action, St John of Gods (Re Nua) and Trust, a charity caring for the homeless in Dublin, have also benefited.
On their first fundraising ride 33 years ago, members of the team cycled to Ashford, Co Wicklow, to raise money for The HolyAngels Infant Intensive Care Unit at the Coombe Hospital, Dublin.
Since 2005, they have embarked on more challenging routes in Ireland and continental Europe.
In 2023, they embarked on a 500km cycle from Basel, Switzerland, to Bad Toelz in Germany through the foothills of the German and Austrian Alps in which €32,000 was raised.
And in 2010 they even went cycling in North America.
Each participant in the charity ride must raise at least €1,000 for the charity and pay their own costs.
A Tour De Force spokeswoman told the Irish Independent: 'Our main sponsors this year are: Fleet Plan, Copper Face Jacks, FBD Insurance, Blooms Hotel, Oliver St. John Gogarty's, Fitzwilliam Hotel, 'Teamwork.com', Euro Cycles, Quanta Capital, Irish Independent Newspapers and The Irish Sun.
'We would like to thank them for their kind support and generous donations to this worthy cause.'