RTE journalist Charlie Bird has presented two cheques totalling €3,376,000 to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and Pieta following the unprecedented Climb with Charlie Campaign.
The handover took place in Merrion Square in Dublin at a ceremony earlier, which attended by Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Sean Clancy, the Army Band 2 Brigade, broadcaster Joe Duffy who acted as MC and several senior Defence Forces officers and non-commissioned officers who took part in the Croagh Patrick Climb. The cheques for €1,688,000 each were handed over by Charlie Bird to Lillian McGovern, Chief Executive of the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and Stephanie Manahan, Chief Executive of Pieta.
Climb With Charlie was an initiative set up by RTE star Charlie Bird 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. On 2 April, Charlie climbed Croagh Patrick in Mayo with the help of his family and friends, inspiring thousands of people do almost two hundred separate Climb with Charlie fundraisers across Ireland, the US, South Africa, Australia and Spain.
