Munster In The Community

The past month has seen a number of Munster Rugby players lend their support to charity and community initiatives throughout the province and beyond.

Donncha O’Callaghan – Visit to Lebanon with UNICEF
In his role as a Unicef Ireland Goodwill Ambassador, Donncha recently travelled to the Bekka valley on the border between Syria and Jordan, witnessing at first hand the inhumane conditions in which children and their families are forced to live.

Speaking on his return, Donncha commented, “Back home in Cork, it's the children's stories that I can't get out of my head. I met families who've experienced unimaginable horror, forced to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs. I met children who have seen things no child should ever see. For the youngest children, this crisis is all they have ever known. Over 100,000 babies have been born as refugees, living in tents and exposed to the harsh winter weather.

“Eighteen months ago, I visited these camps. In that time, some improvements have been made but the situation remains critical. The sheer scale of ULNICEF’s humanitarian response, and the amount of money required each day to finance it, is breathtaking. Across the region, 14 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance.

“That's three and a half times the population of Ireland.”

Lisa’s Light – Anti Suicide Initiative
On Tuesday March 24^th, Munster’s Keith Earls was on hand to launch the ‘Lisa’s Light’ campaign. On the night, eight anti-suicide messages of hope were beamed out over the River Shannon in Limerick as part of a project to try to cut the numbers of people taking their lives on the river.

The initiative was the brainchild of Leaving Cert student Katie Whelan, whose young cousin Lisa passed away after entering the river.

Daffodil Day 2015
On Friday March 27^th, Munster’s Cian Bohane and Johnny Holland joined Daffodil Day volunteers at the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork. Each year, thousands of volunteers around Ireland sell daffodil pins and flowers (on streets, in businesses, homes and shopping centres) to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society’s free, nationwide services for those with, and affected by, cancer in Ireland.

Cliona’s Foundation Meet & Greet
Cliona’s Foundation is a charitable organisation founded in 2007 to fill a great need, providing financial assistance to families from Ireland with children undergoing long-term medical treatment for critical illness.
Funds raised are not for the child’s actual medical care, rather donations are made to families for hidden costs such as accommodation, food, petrol and other miscellaneous expenses incurred during the a child’s treatment.

Recently, a number of the children and their families attended a Munster training session at UL after which they met some of their Munster heroes.

Clare’s Wish Foundation
This is a Limerick based charity founded in April 2013 in memory of the founder's sister, Clare, who was born with Spina Bifida and passed away several years ago aged just 24. The charity's main goal is to grant a wish for adults with a terminal or life-threatening condition.

Patrick Hannon suffered a severe stroke at the age of 35. Following a request to the foundation from his wife Kathleen, Munster Rugby was delighted to facilitate his wish of attending a Munster game and meeting the team. Patrick attended the Munster v Connacht PRO12 game at Thomond Park as a guest of the club in our hospitality suite, after which he went to the players’ lounge to meet them.



Bank Of Ireland Training Session
On the day after Munster’s PRO12 victory over Connacht, the players enjoyed a recovery session with a difference when they teamed up with Munster Rugby’s title sponsor Bank of Ireland to run a training session at CIT for some of our younger fans!

Limerick Good Friday Clean Up
Munster Rugby players including Paul O’Connell, CJ Stander, Conor Murray and more joined the 10,000 people who took part in the major clean-up campaign which was aimed at bringing communities together to make Limerick a cleaner and better place.

Speaking before the event O’Connell said, “it highlights the importance of looking after your community and taking pride in your area.”

Cork Autism
Karen O’Mahony organiser of the annual Masquerade Ball for autism – raising much needed funds, awareness and support for those with autism – was in attendance at training today with her family and other families from the autism community in Cork.

With a number of the children unable to attend Munster’s games, they visited today’s session instead and got the opportunity to meet some of their Munster heroes.