Bear Run 74 2026 set to add to over €250,000 already raised for charities

A charity event run by a Donegal man that has raised over €250,000 in five years will run again this year.

The Bear Run 74 will be passing through Donegal on May Bank Holiday weekend.

The run typically features a lineup of 74 high-performance vehicles, including exotic supercars like Lamborghinis and Ferraris, as well as American muscle cars. This time, the group chose to raise money for the BUMBLEance Children's Ambulance Service.

The Bear Run 74 will run from Friday, May 1, to Sunday, May 3, and over 70 supercars and sports cars are expected to be present.

It will start on the Friday in Moneymore, Co Derry, and they will leave at 2pm. The cars will drive to Lifford and arrive at 5pm. Saturday would then kick off again at 9am from Ballybofey, with the show expected to pass through Donegal Town around 11 am and do a lap around the Diamond.

Afterwards, the entourage will proceed to Ballinalack, Co Westmeath; Tullamore, Co Offaly; Portlaouse, Co Laois, before stopping up for the night on Kilkenny’s Main Street. On Sunday, the procession will start in Kilkenny before going through Wicklow at Kilmartin and Ashford and will finish off at Lawlor’s Hotel in Naas, Co Kildare at 5pm.

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The Mayor of Donegal Town, Anna Gallagher, met with the Lifford native and founder of Bear Run 74, Keith 'Bear' Gamble.

She expressed that she was delighted and is looking forward to welcoming all of them to Donegal Town and said: “This incredible supercar road trip has raised massive funds for so many outstanding charities.”

The Bear Run 74 is in memory of Bear’s late father, Josie, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 74 from cancer. Josie used to do a lot of charity work, and Keith wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“This is to keep his name alive,” Keith said. “He raised 40 grand for charity over the years, and I told him that I’d beat his figure! This is what it’s about: keeping his name alive and helping people.”

The fundraiser, which began in 2021, has raised over €267,996 altogether for many different charities and toy appeals for children in hospitals, including Foyle Down Syndrome Trust, Donegal Hospice, The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, Toy Appeals & Local Hospitals, which have delivered over 7,000 toys to children’s wards at locations such as Letterkenny University Hospital, Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry and Knockavoe School in Strabane.