Radio Presenters fundraise for Irish Charities.

Learning Waves takes immense pride in the remarkable charity work undertaken by its members. In June, two exceptional individuals, Stephen Keogh from Tipp FM and Alan Corcoran from Southeast Radio, have made significant contributions to their respective causes.  

Stephen Keogh Running for Down Syndrome Ireland 

On the 29th of June, Stephen Keogh, radio presenter and programme controller at Tipp FM, embarked on a unique and inspiring challenge. He ran an astounding 21 kilometers while simultaneously hosting the lunchtime show. Tipp FM teamed up with Abbot, Clonmel to help raise money to build an all-weather sensory garden for speech and language sessions at 'Meitheal 21' in Thurles. Abbott, Clonmel arranged a 24 hour charity event where employees would run/jog/walk for a total of 21 minutes consecutively over a 24 hour period on site, with Tipp FM broadcasting live from the launch. No stranger to long distance running, Stephen completed his eighth marathon earlier this year, however his biggest challenges on the day were remaining focused on the show, memorising playlists and not losing his breath!

On route, Stephen interviewed Tipperary hurling manager Liam Cahill and Munster Irish Rugby legend Denis Leamy, who ran 21 minutes each. Many members of 'Meithal 21' in Thurles also took part, while Sheila Naughton read the main lunchtime news live in her running gear before stepping out on the track. The only hiccup on the day was Stephen's GPS tracker which struggled with the 250-metre circuit. The run took longer than anticipated, and overlapped into Tipp FM's Drivetime show. Stephen told Learning Waves, "My biggest challenge was constantly running around in circles, making me feel slightly disorientated towards the end. The run was tougher than many full marathons I've completed, but it was an amazing experience for such a worthy cause."

Listeners embraced the event with donations and messages of encourageent during the show. A oustanding total of €8,772 was raised from the event for Down Syndrome Tipperary. 

Alan Corcoran Running for Wexford Marine Watch 

Another shining star within the Learning Waves community is Alan Corcoran, News Editor and Presenter at South East Radio. Fueled by compassion to make a difference, Alan embarked on an incredible challenge: 65 runs in 65 days, alongside Padraig Murphy, pharmacist and friend of Alan’s. This event was to raise money for Wexford Marine Watch, a suicide prvention organisation based along Wexford Quays. The organisations main work is patrolling Wexford Quays and councilling. The money raised will help them in training and kitting out their recruits. They have just taken on 20 new recruits so this campaign was a great help!

Learning Waves spoke to Alan about the campaign, "I have been an Ambassador for Wexford Marine Watch for the last two years. As they are a 100% voluntary group, they constatnly need to generate funding. Padraig and I have done two previous fundraising runs for them but this was easily the toughest challenge to date. We decided to run between 5k and 10k each day from the 31st of April to the 3rd of July. The significance of the 'Run 65' is that I turned 65 on the 3rd of July. Our runs took us around the county and our fundraising came from our iDonate page, private donations and from bucket collections at the various venues we ran at."

When asked about the support from the community, Alan said, "The support from the community and listeners has been tremendous. Large numbers turned up to run with us and the GAA Clubds, Athletic Clubs and the Park Runs." He also mentioned the challenges of the campaign, "The biggest challenge was staying fit and well, thankfully that happened. I managed to get through the 65 runs with no injury or illness but in the latter stages it did get very tiring and I did suffer from dehydration." Alan reminisced on the highlights, "On one run at a GAA club, we were given commisioned running shirts with the Marine Watch crest on them. At another run, they had the 'Rocky' theme song playing as we finished. It was all a very enriching experience."

Alan and Padraig pushed thier physical limits to the maximum and raised over €18,000 for Wexford Marine Watch. Their dedication to supporting this organisation is truly commendable. You can donate to support this cause by clicking here. 

Congratulations to Stephen and Alan on their outstanding achievements!