Co-founder of livestock aid agency Bóthar, Peter Ireton, took advantage of the early morning sunshine today, (Friday, May 13th) to step-up preparations for his mammoth 64km, 14hour, ‘SIÚL GO DTÍ SEASCA CEATHAR’ trek along the Shannon on Saturday May 28th.
Pete is taking on the ‘SIÚL GO DTÍ SEASCA CEATHAR’ return trek from Limerick to Kilalloe to raise much needed funds to airlift a special convoy of Irish livestock to impoverished Rwandan families later this year. The walk is part of the year-long celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the charity.
Pete is delighted to be lucky enough to be putting on his walking boots for the cause that is so close to his heart.
Bóthar was established by Peter and T.J. Maher in Limerick in 1991 as a one-off gesture of airlifting cows to 20 families in a poverty-stricken region of Uganda to mark the city’s ‘Treaty 300’ celebrations. Since then it has grown into one of Ireland’s leading international NGOs, helping to change the lives of 6,000 families every year.
“People have no idea how far money raised from this walk will go for our Rwandan livestock programme. This special airlift of in-calf Irish heifers, Irish dairy goats, Irish pigs, Irish chicks and Irish AI straws will take families from the most abject, life-threatening poverty you could imagine. They very quickly become self-sufficient,” he said.
About the Walk: ‘SIÚL GO DTÍ SEASCA CEATHAR’ will commence at the University of Limerick at 7 a.m. on Saturday, May 28th and cross over into Co. Clare via the campus, up onto the banks of the Ardnacrusha Canal and continue along until O’Brien’s Bridge. It will then veer into the foothills of Slieve Bearnagh, overlooking Killaloe and Lough Derg, and down into the village itself before continuing back along a similar route to Limerick.
People who can’t do the entire walk are encouraged to participate in some way, and there will be 10k routes at the start and the end of the 64k route!