Priest's marathon efforts make thousands for charity

A Dublin priest and his parishioner reflected the true meaning of Christmas today when they handed over a €20,000 cheque to a homeless charity.

As festive shoppers splurged millions of euro every hour on presents, Foxrock curate Fr Paul Ward and dentist Yvonne Clancy presented the proceeds of their Dublin City Marathon trek to Focus Ireland.

The agile duo walked the entire 26-mile route in six-and-a-half hours in October.

They now plan to trek the Paris Marathon in April for charity.

Fr Ward said: “Yvonne and I walk regularly together and we decided to do the marathon for Focus Ireland as we have been long-time supporters of its work.

“It was one the worst days of the year. It rained heavily all day but it was all in a good cause.”

Fr Ward and Ms Clancy presented the 20,000 euro cheque to Focus Ireland at the Focus Ireland Coffee Shop in Temple Bar this morning.

Founded in 1985 by Sr Stanislaus Kennedy, Focus Ireland is a Dublin-based charity which provides services for the homeless.

The money was raised by a collection in Our Lady of Perpetual Succor Church in Foxrock and by corporate donations.

Ms Clancy, who runs a dentist’s practice in Blackrock, had previously completed a number of mini marathons.

She said: “We’re looking at the Paris Marathon now. It’s a pretty flat route and shouldn’t be too hard on the feet.”

Also posing for photographs at the cheque presentation was UK native Stuart Radham, who had been briefly homeless last year but later secured accommodation through Focus Ireland.

A spokesman for Focus Ireland thanked Fr Ward and Ms Clancy for the cheque and added that the money would go immediately towards maintaining housing and homeless services for its clients.