Darren Lynch, from Caheragh, was involved in a serious cycling accident only ten weeks before he organised the Friends of the Air Ambulance Charity Cycle.
The 31-year-old and his friends decided to try and raise money for the charity after Darren himself was airlifted to Cork University Hospital by the charity-funded Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) Air Ambulance after his accident in July.
He suffered injuries to his head and face when he crashed while taking part in a cycle near Schull.
Darren and his friends came up with the idea of organising a fundraising cycle as he recovered at home. 140 people took part in the 60km event, which started and finished in Skibbereen, on Saturday, October 2nd.
Darren visited the Irish Community Air Ambulance base in Rathcoole, North Cork this week and presented a cheque for €31,457 to the team. The money raised will fund nine future air ambulance missions.
CEO of the Irish Community Air Ambulance, Mícheál Sheridan said:
“I want to say a big thank you to Darren Lynch, his supporters, the cyclists and the entire community in West Cork for arranging such a fantastic event. Darren and his friends took on the challenge of organising a major fundraising cycle just weeks after he was injured in a similar event. We’re often called to cycling incidents in remote locations like West Cork and it is great to meet former patients and see them doing so well. We’re not government funded so we rely on donations and fundraisers like this to bring hope to people in emergency situations.”
Speaking about the fundraiser and donation, Darren Lynch said:
“It was really important for me to turn what could have easily been a negative situation into a positive one. I believe my recovery is down to all the emergency services who treated me that day and this fundraiser is a way of saying thanks to them. It means a lot to be able to meet the crew of the Air Ambulance in person today. I was one of five incidents that the helicopter responded to that day in July which really puts into perspective how important this service is. The cycle was a great success and I would like to thank the participants, over 60 volunteers, supporters, kind sponsors, friends, and family that helped to make the day possible. The support received is a clear reflection of the value that the local community has on this critical service.”
