Sports stars raise €25,000 hurling in the Himalayas!

Four enterprising Galway hurlers are back in Ireland after completing a unique poc fada on the Himalayas – and raising a staggering €25,000 in the process.

Galway senior hurlers Damien Joyce and David Collins, joined by Damian Curley and Brian Howley began their Charity poc fada at sunrise (6am) on the famous 3,500 metres high Poon Hill in the scenic Anapurna region of western Nepal.

To the utter fascination of a few hundred trekkers who were there to see a beautiful sunrise, David Collins hit the first of many sliotars far into the chilly dawn air.

The contest continued at various locations on the descent and while exact measurements weren’t possible, the general consensus was that the Galway and Liam Mellows star was a worthy winner.

The primary purpose of the six day trek and poc fada was to raise money for two needy projects in Nepal.

In Chitwan near the Indian border a primary school with three hundred pupils will get a new classroom, library, toilet and extra playground area while a drug rehabilitation centre in Dolakha in the Mount Everest region will be in a position to build a new counselling room and kitchen owing to the generosity of so many Galway people and institutions.

Speaking to the Connacht Tribune this week, former Ballinasloe Councillor John Molloy, who helped in the organization of the trip, spoke in glowing terms of the wonderful fund-raising ability, generosity and commitment of the hurlers to the project.

“The commitment of the lads to bettering the lives of so many schoolchildren and young vulnerable teenagers with serious drug problems had to be seen to be believed.

“As they travelled around Nepal they brought joy and hope to so many people by their sheer generosity of spirit and their ability to engage in an understanding way with less fortunate young people. They were wonderful ambassadors for Galway and Ireland”, he concluded