Brothers to run a lap of every Tipperary GAA pitch as part of fundraiser

Three Tipperary brothers are gearing up for a major fundraising challenge at the end of this month.

Mark, Paul and Eoin O’Neill, from Cloughjordan, have set themselves the task of running a lap around every GAA pitch in Tipperary.

The drive comes as an effort to raise funds for the Milford Care Centre, which holds a dear place in their hearts.

In December last year, the three brothers, and their father Michael, lost their mother Margaret to cancer, at the age of 54.

Whilst under the care of the Milford staff, the boys say she was treated with the utmost dignity and respect, and that she was given ample space to feel comfortable and at peace, which the brothers say meant the world to them.

To give something back to the staff and the centre, they set themselves this challenge, in which they hope to raise vital funding for the centre, to ensure that similar levels of care can be maintained while other families go through similar experiences with their loved ones.

The challenge will take place on the weekend of Friday, October 23, through Sunday, October 25.

A total of 72 GAA grounds will be covered across the challenge.

Speaking with the Tipperary Star, Eoin outlined how the idea came to be, what motivated them to raise funds for Milford, and how their efforts have been progressing.

The eldest brother, Mark, came up with the idea of running a lap of each pitch in Tipperary when their mother went into Milford in November 2025.

Eoin said that their mother thought they were “absolutely stone mad” to undertake such a task, but it was one the brothers felt was necessary, to repay Milford for all that they had done for Margaret and the family.

“Mammy, she had a tough enough journey in the end. She had cancer for eight and a half years. She was first diagnosed in 2017, and she got the all-clear, she had her treatment in 2017. And then it was 2020 that it all came back, and she had been on treatment ever since. She had a tough few months, she was in a lot of pain, and Milford just got onboard and managed that pain for her. She was in there for over three weeks, and without the pain, she felt so at peace in there, at home in there, we could bring in our own pictures from home, it made the whole room feel more homely for her,” Eoin said.

“Mammy, she was a woman of strong faith, in her own way, her own reserved way, she would never push it on anyone, she’d have it in her own heart. I think she’d be happy that we are giving back.”

The brothers will run over the course of the three days this weekend, from Friday, October 23, through Sunday, October 25.

They sat down together to plot their route, opening the map of the county in front of them, and began to plot out where each club is, and decided they would begin their run in Killea.

They will then head towards Templemore, before moving east towards Gortnahoe, and continuing southwards, finishing their first day in the Horse and Jockey Hotel.

Saturday will get underway in Cahir, where they will begin to move westbound, before heading back up north on Sunday.

They will finish up at their own GAA grounds, Kilruane McDonagh’s, where they will host refreshments and live music as a means to say thanks to all who helped out along their journey.

Donations have been flooding in for the run, with almost €45,000 raised at the time of writing.

Donations can be made through their iDonate page, a link of which can be found on their Instagram page, @runalapformilford.

The brothers would like to thank everyone who has supported them so far for helping them in carrying out the fundraiser.