The Laois Camogie intermediate and minor teams have seen their seasons cut short at the moment by the Coronavirus.
However, they are coming together, while staying apart, to launch a fundraiser for little Dan Donoher.
On this Friday April 17, they will join forces to do a 200km solo run to raise money for Dan.
Over 40 girls will take part and they will each run 5km while soloing a sliotar on their hurl.
They have set up a GoFundMe page and hope to raise as much money as they can.
They say: “In an aim to help raise funds for little Dan Donoher, the Laois intermediate and minor camogie teams have come together and decided to do a 200km solo run for Dan on Friday April 17.
“Over 40 girls will complete a 5km run while soloing the ball on their hurl throughout the run.
“Due to the restrictions placed on us by the government all girls will be completing their run within a 2km radius of their house.”
The girls are the latest members of the GAA community to step forward to help the one-year-old.
Yesterday, the Laois senior hurlers and 11 different GAA clubs launched their own fundraisers which have all gathered real momentum.
A massive fundraiser was launched for baby Dan Donoher on March 5, son of Niall and Aisling Donoher from Ballybrittas, who has been diagnosed with a rare life-threatening disease.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the little boy with a genetic neuromuscular disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1 and Scoliosis.
A breakthrough treatment is available in the USA and to meet the cost, a target of €2million has been set.
The reaction to the fundraiser has been huge with €652,000 raised so far from more than 18,000 different people.
People are not just raising money but awareness too as people are sharing the GoFundMe page on multiple social media platforms.
Dan’s parents Niall and Aisling (Nee Quigley) are very well known in the Laois GAA community.
Niall represented Laois footballers at all levels until his retirement at the end of the 2018 season while Aisling, originally from Timahoe, played for the Laois ladies team for a long number of years too. The couple live in Jamestown, on the old main Dublin Road near Ballybrittas.
Dan was diagnosed with this disease last December at the age of 8 months.
The life expectancy of an SMA type 1 child is 18-24 months.
A ground breaking treatment called Zolgensma is currently only available in USA and costs 2.1 million dollars for a once off infusion.
Studies show that Zolgensma can substantially improve quality of life and survival of this horrific disease.
This treatment is only available to children under the age of two and who meet the requirements.
Dan currently qualifies but “we are against the clock” his parents explain.
About one in every 11,000 children are diagnosed with SMA. It had been incurable, but with this wonder drug on the market it offers Dan a chance at improved or even a normal life.
SEE ALSO – 992 new cases of Coronavirus in Ireland and 31 more deaths
