Over 200 young sportspeople have benefitted from foundation set up in memory of Tipperary hurler

Over 200 young sportspeople throughout the country have already undergone cardiac screening following the establishment of the Dillon Quirke Foundation.

The foundation was set up following the tragic death of the 24-year-old Tipperary and Clonoulty/Rossmore hurler, who collapsed and died while playing for his club in the County Senior Hurling Championship game against Kilruane MacDonaghs at FBD Semple Stadium on August 5 2022.

The foundation’s aim is that every young athlete in Ireland, male and female, will have access to mandatory heart-screening.
It has already raised the huge sum of €935,000 and the fund will be boosted further following this Sunday’s senior hurling challenge match between Tipperary and Limerick at FBD Semple Stadium at 2pm, with the gates set to open at 12.30.

As well as raising money for such a great cause, the match will also provide respective managers Liam Cahill and John Kiely with the opportunity to finalise their plans for the Allianz National League, which starts the following weekend.

Tipp begin their campaign with a trip to Parnell Park to play Dublin at 2.30 on Saturday, February 3, while Limerick face Antrim the following day, Sunday, a match that will be played at FBD Semple Stadium, as the TUS Gaelic Grounds is unavailable.

Tickets for this Sunday’s challenge game in Thurles are available to buy online at the following link - https://embed.futureticketing.ie/c/tipperary-gaa/?ftredirect =1 - or at the gate on Sunday.

They cost €20 each for adults, while all under 16s who are accompanied by an adult will be admitted for free.

All proceeds will go directly towards the Dillon Quirke Foundation’s vital work of delivering more life-saving cardiac screenings for young people involved in sport across the country.

Dillon’s father Dan Quirke, on behalf of the foundation, which is a registered charity, says “Your support for last year’s senior hurling challenge between Tipperary and Kilkenny, in aid of the Dillon Quirke Foundation, made a big difference.

“Thanks to a generous community of supporters like you, over 200 children and young people have already been screened - and that number is growing fast.

“We’re working towards an ambitious goal of providing free screening for 5,000 young people in 2024. Just imagine the lives that this many screenings will save - the families that will avoid the devastation of losing a loved one to SADS (Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, which claims 100 young lives in Ireland every year).

“We would love to see you show up for Dillon once again. Semple Stadium is where we tragically lost Dillon to SADS in August 2022. But it’s also a pitch on which he played many times - and his shining passion, talent and love for the game will live on in all of our hearts, and through the life-saving work of the Foundation”.

If you can’t attend the match but would like to tune in and support the foundation, the game will be broadcast live by Tipperary GAA’s official streaming partner Clubber, with all proceeds going to the foundation. Supporters can watch the game by going to clubber.ie.

There are plenty more ways that you can support the foundation’s life-saving cardiac screenings; you can make a donation, buy a jersey on the website https://www.dillonquirkefoundation.com/ or spread the word about the foundation’s work and Sunday’s match among your friends, work colleagues and family.

All support is greatly appreciated and makes a huge difference.