Legendary broadcaster Charlie Bird has handed two cheques totalling €3.3m to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and Pieta following the unprecedented Climb with Charlie Campaign in an emotional ceremony today.
Climb With Charlie was an initiative set up by Charlie following his terminal diagnosis of motor neurone disease in November 2021 to help and show support for everyone who has to climb their own physical and mental mountains in their daily lives.
His plan was to climb Croagh Patrick on April 2 with some close friends and family, but the campaign immediately caught the Irish public’s imagination.
Read More: Charlie Bird to donate €3m to charity this week as he thanks public in health update
Along with several thousand people taking part in the Croagh Patrick climb, tens of thousands of people also took part in almost two hundred separate Climb with Charlie fundraisers across Ireland, the US, South Africa, Australia and Spain.
Today, the cheques were handed over at a special ceremony in Dublin’s Merrion Square, attended by Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Sean Clancy, the Army Band 2 Brigade, RTE broadcaster Joe Duffy and several senior Defence Forces officers and non-commissioned officers who took part in the Croagh Patrick Climb.
Charlie presented the cheques for €1,688,000 each to Lillian McGovern, Chief Executive of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and Stephanie Manahan, Chief Executive of Pieta.
Commenting on the success of the Climb with Charlie campaign, Charlie said: “I am truly humbled and inspired that so many thousands of people took part in Climb with Charlie events across the world.
“I want to thank people all across the country for their incredible support throughout this journey. All of the generous donations will go to the two charities which are so close to my heart. It is an amazing gesture of support for me and my family.”
Charlie went on to say: “The support of so many wonderful people and organisations throughout the campaign was a great example of people extending the hand of friendship, and I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart.
“I would also like to particularly thank the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána, Mayo Mountain Rescue, the Order of Malta and all our local volunteers for making our climb possible.”
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