Two GOAL Mile events in local area this Christmas

Two GAA clubs in the local area are hosting a GOAL Mile this Christmas - one in Westmeath and one in Roscommon.

Castledaly GAA club in Westmeath and Pádraig Pearses GAA in Roscommon are both hosting GOAL Mile events this year.

The Castledaly event takes place on St Stephen's Day (Sunday, December 26) at 12 noon, and the organiser is Dermot Walshe (for more information, email: dkmwalshe@gmail.com).

The Pádraig Pearses GOAL Mile will be held on Christmas Day (from 10am to 12noon) in the club grounds in Woodmount, close to Ballinasloe. The organiser is Antoinette Gallagher (email:antogallbee@gmail.com).

AIB, proud partner of the GOAL Mile, has teamed up with former Irish rugby international Luke Fitzgerald, Irish hockey international Róisín Upton, Olympian Ciara Mageean and former Mayo manager Stephen Rochford to encourage communities across the island to step up together and take part in the GOAL Mile this Christmas.

For over 40 years, the GOAL Mile has seen tens of thousands of people run or walk a mile to raise funds for GOAL at Christmas to enable its work supporting vulnerable communities in 14 countries across the globe.

People can take part in the GOAL Mile in a number of different ways, be it in one of the more than 150 GOAL Mile events being organised in Ireland and internationally or simply by registering with GOAL at https://www.goalglobal.org/goal-mile/ and completing a mile in any place, at any time during the month of December.

In support of GOAL’s efforts to get more people than ever to complete the GOAL Mile, AIB will be installing a number of start lines around the country in the lead-up to Christmas.

GOAL CEO Siobhan Walsh explained: “Hundreds of communities across Ireland already know and love the GOAL Mile. They show incredible compassion for communities in need across the world that this event supports. GOAL helped more than 14 million people in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America last year. We could not have achieved this without the continued support of the Irish people.”

AIB CEO Colin Hunt said: “The GOAL Mile, which is already a well-established event in many of the communities that we serve, helps transform the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people. This year we are committed to working with GOAL to make it the biggest GOAL Mile yet and are asking people across the island of Ireland to step up together to complete a mile for GOAL. In doing so, together we can help GOAL reach vulnerable communities that are already suffering deeply from the impact of crises, poverty and climate change.”

Donations to GOAL can be made at https://www.goalglobal.org/donate/