Over €600 raised by match for Cardiac Risk in the Young

OVER 100 spectators gathered in Ballymount Park  to watch a memorial match in memory of a local young man, and raised over €600 for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).

The event was held in memory of Kingswood man Ciaran McDonnell, who died from sudden cardiac death syndrome in February 2010.

A team from Kingswood Castle FC competed against Team Kiwi, which was composed of Ciaran’s friends and named in tribute to the popular young man’s nickname.

Team Kiwi were out of luck, however, as they lost to Kingswood Castle FC for the second year in a row, with a score of 10-2.

Dean Bonnie, who was good friends with Ciaran, and Sharlene Kennedy from Kingswood Castle FC organised the event which is now in its 10th year.

Sharlene told The Echo: “It was really exciting, and you could tell people were coming out to support a good thing.”

The 10th annual memorial match was recognised with the presentation of a new shield, documenting the winners of the match in the previous ten years.

This shield was given to Ciaran’s mother, Dolores, while the winning team received the Ciaran McDonnell Trophy in recognition of their victory.

After the match, the attendees then went to the Kingswood Lodge where a raffle was held and Dolores spoke about the very important work of

CRY, which received the proceeds from the event.

“Dolores gave a lovely speech about CRY,” said Sharlene. “She also shared some facts, and it was shocking to hear how many people a year die from cardiac risk in the young.

“It highlighted the important work that CRY does. The work they do is life-saving work, you can’t put a price on it.

“It brought awareness to CRY and got conversations going, and awareness is an important part of prevention. We’re more than happy to support them.”

The match and raffle were supported by Gio’s Kingswood, Best Pharmacy, The Tan Fairy, Kingswood Kenpo Karate, Walkers Butchers, OneLifeFitness, Epic Fitness, Studio 24 Male Grooming, Radcover.ie, Sean Casey and Michelle Gaynor.

The event also gave Ciaran’s family and friends the opportunity to reflect on the life of the young man who had a lasting impact on those around him.

“Seeing his family coming down and his friends being together was really lovely,” added Sharlene.

“We’re ten years into the match now, and it just goes to show how loved he was and the character he was.”

When asked how she thought Ciaran would’ve felt about the match last Saturday, Sharlene laughed and said: “I think he’d have preferred if Team Kiwi had won – that’s his team with his nickname.”

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