Still cutting a Dash despite Coronavirus
They may have been unable to do their traditional St Stephen's Day Dash through the streets of Cavan this year but organisers of the Christmas Dash were determined the event would go ahead virtually to raise funds for charities.
The 10th annual Cavan Christmas Dash, like so many other runs and fundraisers in the year of COVID-19, went online but, for the first time, Cavan people all over the world were able to join in the effort.
This 2020 event is raising funds for St Christopher’s Hospice in Cavan, the only dedicated palliative care facility in the North East Region, covering counties Cavan and Monaghan. While donations are still coming in, it's thought around €5,000 has been raised for the local hospice.
Plans are now at an advanced stage for the development, by St Christopher's, of a 15-bed specialist Level 3 Hospice, operating to the same level of expertise as hospices such as Harolds Cross, Dublin and St Francis's, Raheny. This development has been approved by the Department of Health and the HSE and will ensure that complex end-of-life inpatient care can be available to the population of Cavan and Monaghan. This will call for very significant funding for which the Hospice relies entirely on all available support from the voluntary sector.
Over 200 people registered to participate in the Virtual Cavan 5km Christmas Dash at a time and route of their choosing over the Christmas weekend – from Christmas Day on December 25 right through to Sunday, December 27.
Liam Mimnagh, one of the organisers, said this year's Dash saw people take part from various parts New York, Sydney, the UK, Dublin, Cork and all over County Cavan.
While numbers are down on last year, the organisers are delighted with the response in the year of the pandemic.
"It was a big difference from the 700 that showed up in Cavan Town the previous year. We also had a reduced entry fee this year to reflect virtual.
It's difficult to get the same traction with a virtual," said Mr Mimnagh.
"But we are glad we kept the event going and marked the 10th year despite COVID. People were very generous in donating in addition to their entry - for which we are very grateful.
Based on this year's projected funds raised we are now sitting at over €90K raised for local charities," he added.
Those who registered and donated at www.cavanchristmasdash.ie were later able to submit their run times.
The results with times and locations have been published on the Dash website. In addition, everyone will be emailed a digital certificate with their time after the event.
Participantswere also encouraged to share photos of their run or walk on social media with the hashtag #CavanDash2020.
In 2019, up to 700 people turned out to support Cuan Cavan Cancer Support Centre and Friends of Cavan Oncology with over €16,000 being raised – a record for the event.