Orlaith The Way To Galway

In June this year, Deb Hayden, Matt Joyner, Michael Brennan, Dave Dineen, John Donnelly and Richard Whitehouse will be joining the 'Orlaith The Way To Galway' team (made up of 37 cyclists and 9 support team), cycling over 200 miles from Birmingham, England to Tuam in Co. Galway, Ireland to raise money for three very deserving charities.

The three charities - NICE Centre for Movement Disorders, QEHB Fighting Skin Cancer and Macmillan UK have been carefully selected due to their personal significance and connection to the cyclists.

Orlaith, who inspired the groups name, is a 6 year old family member of the cyclists. Orlaith has a movement disorder meaning she is currently a full time wheelchair user. She attends NICE for vital movement therapy known as conductive education as well as schooling, and the charity have been a huge part of the progress she has made so far.

QEHB Fighting Skin Cancer were chosen following the loss of Orlaith's grandfather Tommy-Joe Ryan. The charity supports a variety of research projects including research of immunotherapy drugs, melanoma targeting treatment, and research into rare skin cancers such as Merkel Cell Cancer. A much loved family member of the team, Tommy-Joe Ryan, sadly lost his battle against this invasive disease in July 2020. It is in his memory the cycle route has been chosen, mirroring a journey he took back to his hometown many times. In July 2021, Sarah Noakes, a dear friend of one of our cyclists also sadly lost her courageous battle with melanoma cancer at the age of 32, she was also treated by the QEHB team.

Macmillan UK have recently supported a very inspirational and determined family member and friend of the cyclists through her cancer diagnosis. The support Macmillan have provided has been extremely valuable through her treatment. The charity has been chosen in recognition of the wonderful support they have given to the family.

It's an honour to take part in this cycle and raise awareness and much-needed funds for these three charities. The whole team are currently putting in huge amounts of effort training for this challenge, and any donation big or small would be greatly appreciated. You can find out more info and keep up with our training over on our social media pages @orlaiththewaytogalway.

Thank you so much!