Tyrone pupils partner with Marathon Man for fundraiser

A FUNDRAISING phenomenon from Tyrone has made yet another heroic contribution to the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Trust, a charity he has supported since his daughter was diagnosed with the condition in 1992.

Liam McHugh from Castlederg had to overcome what seemed like a potentially career-ending heel deformity in order to complete this year’s London marathon, a feat of fortitude which, at the time of writing, has seen him raise almost £25,000.

Through a lifetime of fundraising, Liam has now accrued almost £350,000 for CF Trust.

Helping the Derg man generate an extra £1,600 this year were the staff and students of St Patrick’s College, Dungannon.

Speaking with the TyroneHerald at the end of last week, Liam thanked the school community for taking part in the Belfast Marathon, in aid of the cause he says he ‘will never stop fighting for’.

“I was delighted to be invited by principal of St Patrick’s College Dungannon, Catherine McHugh, to visit the school to receive a cheque for the outstanding sum of £1,600 from the amazing staff and students there,” said Liam.

“They ran the relay in the Belfast City Marathon and wanted to add their money on to my TCS London Marathon total in aid of the CF Trust.

“What a very kind and caring gesture and I cannot thank them all enough.”

Liam continued, “Talking to the students about the condition of CF, we discussed how, despite the advent of new life-saving drugs that work for 90 per-cent of people with the condition, there are still 10 per-cent who are still waiting in hope that a new medicine capable of transfomring their lives will be developed.

“Every pupil I spoke with agreed that we cannot afford to leave that 10 per-cent behind, and their attentive listening just done my heart good.

“Thank you once again to a lovely bunch of people, not forgetting local lad Cahir O’Hagan RIP who was in the 10 per-cent with no available drugs to suit his mutation of CF.

“Thank you so much to everyone for your amazing support in our goal to beat CF for good.”