A 6km run named after Donal Walsh took place at Spa NS near Tralee, starting from his old primary school. Donal Walsh died on May 12, 2013, at age 16, after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma at age 12. At 16, he gained national attention for speaking about suicide among young people, expressing anger and confusion that others could choose to end their lives while his life was being taken away without choice. This year’s event attracted close to 600 people in good weather. The course was started by Donal’s parents, with David Chute first overall and Tara O Sullivan first in the ladies’ section. A market and food court were also available, and organizers credited volunteers, sponsors, and committee members for a smooth day.
"Donal passed away on May 12, 2013, just one month shy of his 17th birthday. He had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma, also known as bone cancer when he was just 12 years old."
"When he was 16, he gained nationwide attention when, in an interview on Brendan O'Connor's The Saturday Night Show on RTÉ, he became angry at the issue of suicide amongst young people. He said that he struggled to understand how other young people could choose to end their lives when his was being taken away from him without a choice."
"This year's outing, which took place on Sunday, once again drew a fantastic crowd of close to 600 people, something aided by the fact that the weather was absolutely glorious on the day. The looped 6km course was started at the school by Donal's parents, Fionbarr and Elma Walsh, with past pupil David Chute the first man home on the day."
""Every year we aim to honour Donal and his inspirational message in a special way and so our amazing team of loyal volunteers and sponsors worked exceptionally hard yet again to create a community event where people would come together for a few hours, have fun and 'live life' just as Donal had urged us all to." said school principal Peter Linehan."
Read at Irish Independent
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]