Donegal teen raises nearly €10,000 with Bundoran to Mountcharles bed push

A Mountcharles teenager has led a charity fundraising team to raise nearly €10,000 for Little Blue Heroes by pushing a bed from Bundoran to Mountcharles.

Christopher Monaghan (16) and his friends pushed the bed the full 40km of distance on Saturday, August 9, to raise funds for Little Blue Heroes, who assisted his family whilst his little sister, Aisling (3), was ill.

Aisling had required two open-heart surgeries before she was six months old.

Proud mother, Ceara Monaghan, said: “It was brilliant. We were absolutely blown away by the amount of support. The event went really well, and the weather was on our side.

“I am so proud of Christopher. He took this on with great heart and gusto. It was very emotional for me. It was for his little sister and the charity that was so good to us, so we are very proud, and he has earned a lot of brownie points.

“With the other boys, I am so proud of them as well. They all came out at 8am, all full of energy and buzz. You could not have asked for a nicer bunch of boys to do it. All in all, they are a really lovely bunch of guys.

“We have over €9,700 donated. It is incredible and overwhelming. It shows the generosity of people. We are in the process of counting the collection buckets from the cash on the day.”

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Christopher told Donegal Live: “It was an amazing day. It went better than we thought. From Bundoran to Ballyshannon, there was a bit of difficulty with the bed. It was leaning to one side, so we had to stop to get one of the wheels changed, and then from Ballyshannon to Laghey, we flew up the road.

“From Donegal Town to Mountcharles, there were cars honking, and we were ready to have it over and done with. 

“We all took it in turns of four, so after around 8km, we would swap, and another four would jump on and push the bed. All of the boys did around 16km between them, and I did around 25km.

“It was not too tiring, but the next day, we could feel it.”

After the bed push was completed, a raffle with prizes was held at Jimmy’s Tavern in Mountcharles.

Little Blue Heroes is a not-for-profit registered charity led by Garda and retired Garda members, and it aims to support families of children with serious illnesses in Ireland while empowering the lives of children through positive community engagement. 

Ceara made sure to thank the charity. She commented: “When you are facing a terrifying journey, the only thoughts are on your child, and when the charity contacts you to help, it is pretty incredible and generous, and all those donations that we have received and given to the charity means that somebody else who would have a terrifying journey will get that phone call and help with the burdens whilst caring for that sick child.” 

If you wish to donate to Christopher’s cause, you can do so online at https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/ChristopherM.