Rathnew girl with Cystic Fibrosis inspires Mark Coster memorial
Mark of Drumkay, Rathnew, sadly passed away in April of 2021, and friends of his whom badly miss him, have been organising a bike run each year in his honour. The first Mark Coster memorial run took place in 2022 to help raise funds to help then three-year-old Kane Fox of Merrymeeting in Rathnew, get life-changing treatment in the US.
The past two runs, held in 2023 and 2024, were for the I Am Alex campaign, to assist the family of Alex Dunne of Rathnew, who has a rare brain injury called Periventricular Leukomalacia or PVL.
This year's run takes place on Sunday, April 27, in aid of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, which Rathnew's Erica Newsome suffers from, having lost her brother Ivan to the illness when he was just 14 years old.
Gavin Ryan, one of the organisers of the memorial run, said: 'This is our fourth year carrying out the run, and we always try to keep it local as far as our fundraising. The past memorial runs have featured anything from 25 to 50 bikers. We raised around €800 at our first run, and each event since has raised around €1,200 each year.
'There is a core group of us that go around together but on the day we are always joined by countless other bikers, many from along the east coast, but we also had a few last year from the likes of Tipperary. We always get plenty of support and we will be hoping for similar levels of support this year too.'
The memorial run meets at the Coffee Dock on Bray seafront at 11am and then heads to Rathnew, arriving at the local cemetery at around 12 noon, where a wreath will be laid at Mark's graveside.
The event will be fully marshalled and bucket collections will also take place.
Gavin added: 'Anyone who wants to particulate can just turn up on the day. It's always quite an emotional and poignant occasion when we lay the wreath at Mark's grave.
'He is badly missed but it's nice to be able to help a good cause while also remembering Mark.'
Anyone wishing to donate towards the campaign who won't be able to make it on the day can text '65Roses' to 50300 to donate €4.
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