Offaly businessman to join Rory Best on 378km nine-day walking challenge
Nigel Reams, CEO of Tullamore-based company Lumcloon Energy, is one of 21 business leaders who will be joining Ireland and Ulster Rugby legend Rory Best on a 378km, nine-day charity walking challenge that begins this Saturday (September 12).
The epic trek around the island of Ireland has been organised to help support Cancer Fund for Children, which provides emotional, social and therapeutic support to children, young people and families from Offaly and elsewhere that have been impacted by cancer.
Rory Best's 'Miles 2 Mayo ─ the Trilogy' is the final part of a series of three physical fundraising challenges led by Rory for Cancer Fund for Children, with the events having raised more than €2.5 million to date.
The 'Miles 2 Mayo ─ the Trilogy' challenge will begin in Derry city this Saturday and will travel through Belfast, Dublin, Kildare, Carlow, Cork, Limerick and Galway before finishing on Sunday, September 20, in Cong, county Mayo.
Cong is the location of Cancer Fund for Children’s second Daisy Lodge therapeutic short break centre for children and families impacted by a cancer diagnosis. The facility is currently nearing completion and due to open in 2027.
The fundraising target for Rory’s Miles 2 Mayo ─ the Trilogy is around €1.5 million, which will go towards equipping Daisy Lodge in Cong, and help get it ready for opening its doors next year.
As part of the fundraising initiative, Nigel Reams organised a 'Beyond The Try' charity night in the Tullamore Court Hotel last month, which raised €50,000 and featured appearances by five Irish rugby stars, Jamison Gibson-Park, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe, James Ryan and Garry Ringrose.
Speaking ahead of the upcoming challenge, Rory Best, said: "It's an honour to lead this series of physical fundraising challenges in support of the amazing work of Cancer Fund for Children and I’m excited to be taking on the third and final challenge, with an incredible team of business leaders and surrounded by a passionate crew of supporters.
"Though it will be a strenuous undertaking, the motivation of supporting a charity doing such vital work for families and children facing the heartbreaking realities of a cancer diagnosis will drive us towards the finish line in Cong, county Mayo.
"It will be emotional and very rewarding to see how work is nearing completion on the second Daisy Lodge to help more children and families who are going through very tough times."
Rory’s 'Miles to Mayo' is supported by headline sponsor Arachas Corporate Brokers, a nationwide insurance broker with 16 offices across the country, including in Birr and Tullamore, which has raised funds for Cancer Fund for Children across all of the Rory’s 'Miles to Mayo' challenges since 2021.
Kingsbridge Private Hospital Group is on board as a supporting sponsor and has also been committed to this challenge since its inception.
You can find out more about this charity challenge, and how you can get behind Rory Best and the participants, by visiting: rorysmiles2mayo.cancerfundforchildren.com