Rory Best's 378km walking challenge to finish at Daisy Lodge Mayo this weekend
IRELAND and Ulster rugby legend Rory Best, together with 21 business leaders, will finish the 378km, nine-day Rory’s Miles to Mayo - the Trilogy walking challenge around the island of Ireland for Cancer Fund for Children in Cong this Sunday, September 20.
Cancer Fund for Children is an all-island charity that provides emotional, social and therapeutic support to children, young people and families impacted by cancer.
Rory’s Miles to Mayo - the Trilogy is the final part of a series of three physical fundraising challenges led by Rory Best for Cancer Fund for Children, which have raised over €2.5 million to date.
The final day of the nine-day walk this Sunday will see Rory and his team - who include 2026 All-Ireland winning Mayo footballer Cillian O’Connor, director and co-founder of Spot Recruitment - walk from MacHale Park grounds in Castlebar to Cong along the 43km N84 route. Cong is the location of Cancer Fund for Children’s second Daisy Lodge therapeutic short break centre for children and families impacted by a cancer diagnosis, currently nearing completion and due to open in 2027.
At the nearly completed Daisy Lodge in Cong, representatives from Cancer Fund for Children and the main sponsors of Rory’s Miles to Mayo, Arachas Corporate Brokers, will reveal a commemorative stone monument to Rory that will be displayed on the grounds of Daisy Lodge in Cong in recognition of the rugby legend’s contribution to its development.
Members of the O’Malley family, from the Neale, and the Walsh family from Hollymount will join the walkers for the last kilometre of the final day of the challenge, as well as Michael Gavin (aged 14) from Kill, Co. Kildare, who have all been supported by Cancer Fund for Children.
The fundraising target for Rory’s Miles to Mayo - the Trilogy is around €1.5 million, which will go towards equipping Daisy Lodge in Cong, and help get it ready for opening its doors next year to enable Cancer Fund for Children to support more children and families.
Rory Best’s latest challenge is taking him full circle - his inaugural Rory’s Miles to Mayo in 2021 saw him walk from Cancer Fund for Children’s first Daisy Lodge in Newcastle, Co. Down, to Cong, where he broke ground at the site of the second Daisy Lodge. In 2023, a second Rory’s Miles to Mayo challenge saw him walk from Dublin’s Aviva Stadium to Cong. This time, Rory will get to see Daisy Lodge in Cong at near completion.
Every week, up to 10 children and young people aged 0-24 are diagnosed with cancer across the island of Ireland.
Cancer Fund for Children provides therapeutic and emotional support to children and young people living with cancer, as well as their families. This support is delivered at home, in hospital, and at the charity’s purpose-built short break centre, Daisy Lodge, in Newcastle, Co. Down, and soon at a second Daisy Lodge in Mayo.
Find out more about the charity challenge and how you can get behind Rory Best and the participants here.