Trek to Knock raises over €1,000 for autism
By Aideen O'Flaherty
OVER €1,000 has been raised for the Tallaght Parents’ Autism Support Group by Dave O’Brien, who undertook a five-day trek from Maynooth to Knock last month to raise funds for the group.
Killinarden man Dave (43) decided to take on the challenge after he received advice and support from the group in relation to his son Ross (5), who has been diagnosed with autism.
Dave O'Brien in Knock
The father-of-two first became aware of the group when he met some members at Tallafest last June, where they offered him invaluable advice.
Dave, who works as a scaffolder for ISG Scaffolding, told The Echo: “I was having trouble getting my son into school, and I met two women from the Tallaght Parents’ Autism Support Group (TPASG) at Tallafest.
“They’re a great bunch of people and they gave me lots of advice – my son is only five, so this is all new for me.”
Dave planned the walk to coincide with a pilgrimage to Knock that was taking place at the same time, and he walked for 12 hours each day before reaching the endpoint in Knock.
While he was “very sore” by the time he reached the end of his 175km trek, Dave felt that it was “all worth it” in the end to raise money for the group.
Sponsorship during the walk was provided by Mimi Arcade Systems and ISG Scaffolding.
To find out more about the support group, follow Tallaght Parents Autism Support Group on Facebook or email tpasg.info [at] gmail [dot] com
