‘Push for Paul’ is a week-long 350km wheelchair push in support of a Wexford man who was diagnosed with a life-altering disease that is aiming to raise €100,000.
Paul Murphy, a resident of Listry, Killarney in Co. Kerry, is living with mitochondrial myopathy, a condition similar to motor neurone disease.
This devastating diagnosis has left Murphy wheelchair-bound, while also impairing his motor skills.
A graduate of Mountbellew Agricultural College in Co. Galway and hailing from a farming background in Co. Wexford, Murphy has maintained contact with several of his classmates over the years.
In 2022 a group of Murphy’s friends and college friends embarked on a project to make the family home more accessible for a person with such a diagnosis.
Rallying to the Murphy family’s cause, ‘A Push for Paul’ shall see a group of Murphy’s friends pushing a wheelchair from Drogheda, starting on Sunday, April 21 all the way to Killarney Racecourse for a scheduled finish on Saturday, April 27.
The cross-county walk will also raise awareness of the Irish Wheelchair Association’s (IWA) outstanding work.
Event co-organiser John Heavey, a friend of Murphy’s who lives in Co. Louth, explained the motivation behind a ‘Push for Paul’.
Heavey said: “It all came about following a conversation with Paul and Linda. Paul said he didn’t know how difficult it was for a person in a wheelchair until he had to use one himself,
“And that sparked something. Accessibility issues that wheelchair users encounter daily need to be highlighted as frequently as possible to help increase wider awareness of the issue.”
“We’ll be pushing a teddy in a wheelchair in relays from Drogheda to Trim, Trim to Tullamore, Tullamore to Nenagh, Nenagh to Adare, Adare to Castleisland and then from Castleisland to Killarney Racecourse on Saturday, April 27,” Heavey added.
‘Push for Paul’ is going to be a team event, not reserved to one person or one group covering the entire distance.
it is hoped that members of the public and companies will get involved to help realise the €100,000 fundraising target. The campaign has already exceeded the €50,000 mark.
“So far, we’ve been blown away by the individual and corporate support we’ve received, which we are so grateful for,” Heavey said.
Murphy has said his wife Linda ” has been absolutely brilliant” as she will make sure they both keep going to watch their children, Harry and Sadie, playing matches, which he said “means a lot.
“Just because I’m in a wheelchair doesn’t mean I can’t be a parent. But I’m keeping myself going, I’m keeping myself busy and that’s very important. I have to do something.
“Back in my days studying agribusiness at Mountbellew and playing rugby with GMIT [Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology], I could never have thought that all these years later, so many of the people I met then would still be there for me now, offering me and my family such amazing support.”
“On behalf of myself, Linda, Harry and Sadie, I want to sincerely thank everybody who has been involved in the campaign. The kindness that so many people have offered means so much,” Murphy added.
Donations to the ‘Push for Paul’ fundraiser can be made here.