MEMORIES were very much to the fore when an extended Limerick family took on a 125km ‘Irish Camino’ challenge as part of the first virtual Alzheimer’s Memory Walk to raise much-needed funds for the Alzheimers Society of Ireland.
Event organiser Marian Purcell left her home in Broadford with her family last Saturday morning and arrived in the North Clare village of Kilfenora on Wednesday after completing their own five-day Alzheimer’s Memory Walk.
Dementia is very close to Marian’s heart and she was inspired to organise this adventure by her mother, Kay Fahy, who lived with dementia for seven years and sadly passed away in 2014.
The entire family came together in the spic walk to keep her memory alive.
Ever since the passing of their mother on Christmas Day 2014, the family have continued to raise funds for the Alzheimer Society. Because of the Covid-19 restrictions this year, they were unable to organise any of the usual fundraising events so they undertook the walk as a means to raise much needed funds.
And while they were making their way to North Clare, more than 2,500 others from all around Ireland were also taking part in first Virtual Alzheimer’s Memory Walk on Monday.
Explaining the motivation behind the event, Marian Purcell said: “Dementia is a cause close to the heart of my family and many others in Ireland. We are all doing this Alzheimer’s Memory Walk in memory of my mother, Kay. She was a very special person to us all and we are doing this to keep her memory alive.
“My family usually do the Camino Adventure with The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, but it was cancelled this year because of Covid-19, it would have been our sixth year doing it. But this 125km walk over five days from Broadford to Kilfenora is our ‘Irish Camino’ and is the next best thing and we’ll hopefully also put a bit of a spot light on dementia and to encourage people to talk about dementia more.”
The Alzheimer Society has also implemented new ways of providing supports remotely to clients. A helpline is open six days a week Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm and Saturday from 10am to 4pm on 1800 341 341.
Email [email protected] or live chat at www.alzheimer.ie
