These boots were made for walkin’ in Rathvilly

THE launch of the 24-hour walkathon in aid of Rathvilly GAA and Rathvilly schoolhouse was held recently in Lawlor’s pub.

Sponsored by the Carlow Credit Union, the walkathon is taking place on 4-5 September and will feature teams of walkers who will take their turn in walking for an hour, over a 24 hours period.

The Rathvilly Schoolhouse and Enterprise Committee was formed to organise fundraising activities and they’ve certainly been busy since their formation. The walkathon is their latest fundraising event following the success of last year’s event.

The launch party revealed who was going to be on which team and the 24 team leaders found out at which hour they will walk. There were two containers, one that had each team leader’s name on it and another that had the 24 time slots; names and timeslots were then picked at random.

“It was done fairly and openly in front of everyone who attended,” Anna Deering, one of the organisers of the walkathon and a team leader, said.

There were refreshments available to those attending and models of the renovations to the schoolhouse and new GAA facilities that the money raised will go towards.

The committee recently announced the launch of a Buy a Brick scheme and at the launch there were models of what you get if you purchase a brick. Individuals or local businesses can purchase a brick for the schoolhouse and in return can inscribe a message on a tile which will be fixed to the building when the renovations are done.

“They could be in memory of someone who has passed away or it could be from a family,” Anna said.

She said that they received great feedback at the launch event and that momentum and excitement is building as the walkathon nears.