After an incredible journey of hard work and fundraising, Sophies Journey Foundation will reach the end of the road this year.

Sophies Journey Foundation to reach its journey’s end this year

By I Love Limerick Correspondent Tara Byrne

Richard pictured with the Mulcahy’s including the beautiful Sophie in pink. Picture: Caleb Purcell

After an incredible journey of hard work and fundraising, Sophies Journey Foundation has decided that by the end of the year, the foundation will come to an end.

Sophies Journey Foundation was developed by her parents, Liam and Stacey Mulcahy, as a foundation in January 2015 to support families who were dealing with children with life-limiting conditions in memory of their daughter Sophie who sadly passed away from kidney failure on October 23rd, 2014. This is a much-needed service during a critical time of a child’s life. The funds raised go directly to supporting in-home care for children with life-limiting illnesses in the Limerick area.

Liam, Sophie’s father said, “We are not ending the Foundation based on financial elements, it’s purely the fact that we as a family feel the Foundation and the club have carried Sophie’s name with pride and honour for so long in doing amazing work for Limerick kids and national charities for 14 years that it’s time to say goodbye.”

Initially, Liam was fundraising in Sophie’s honour under the name Cycle4Sick Children as a cycling club that raised funds for children’s charities but once Sophie passed they set up Sophie’s Journey Foundation to focus on kids with life-limiting illness and to raise funds for local children’s organisations.

Liam Mulcahy, Sophie’s Foundation, Majella Short, Nurse at San Joseph Children’s Respite Centre, Stacey Mulcahy, Dion O’ Dowd. Picture: Billy Butler/ilovelimerick

Sophie was born with a rare condition called 1Q43 and was born on July 12, 2006, in the Coombe Maternity Hospital. She was immediately transferred to Our Lady’s Children’s where she would have an amazing six heart operations in seven months. Sophie spent the majority of her stay in Cardiac ICU 2 ventilated fighting battle after battle. This condition, along with her 7 months in Crumlin left Sophie unable to walk, talk or feed herself.

Throughout her short few years, Sophie inspired so many people to achieve the impossible and she was at the centre of many events that brought people together. Anyone who knew her well was touched by her. Liam and Stacey started fundraising in 2007 to thank the organisations who saved her life and helped raise huge funds that went to families to help with the children’s needs.

Sadly Sophie passed away in October 2014. Sophie’s family have given 100 percent commitment to this foundation in memory of Sophie’s legacy and to help improve the conditions that families with children with life-limiting endure on a daily basis.

There are many treasured memories from the various events and projects the Foundation has been involved in.

Sophie’s Journey Foundation has raised tens of thousands of euro for charity through events such as the annual Sophie Mulcahy Memorial Cycle and the annual Sophie Mulcahy Memorial Run.

Pictured at the new Mungret Inclusion Park and Playground were, Kayla Mulcahy, Lexie O’Donoghue, Aoife Carroll, Liam Mulcahy, Sophies Journey, Valerie Dunne, C4SC, Gerard Lynch, Team Sophie, Christine O’Donoghue, Keith Walker, Kompan and Dion O’Dowd. Picture by Alan Place.

In 2013, Liam approached the Limerick Council, while working through Cycle4Sick children, with a sketch of his plans for a park for the Limerick community that would be inclusive of people of all abilities. This led to the birth of Mungret Inclusion Park and Playground. 

In 2015, Liam and his wife Stacey, along with the help from volunteers took to San Joseph Children’s Respite Centre to paint their back garden area in memory of Sophie. This area is an integral part of the centre as it is where the children spend a lot of their time when the weather is good. The paint job brought a new lease of life to the garden, brightening the area up.

The foundation had a fantastic support element called ‘Team SophieMul’ named in honour of Sophie. The group consisted of cyclists and runners and all people who wanted to become actively involved with the foundation. It actively created awareness for children with life-limiting conditions. Together, they helped improve lives by organizing and partaking in events and challenges.

Liam added, “We want to thank the doctors, nurses, ambulance staff, caregivers, sponsors, volunteers and supporters. We want to think of the people we have helped to create the beautiful Mungret Park and other fantastic projects our beautiful Sophie has inspired. Thanks so much for your help and support you have been amazing throughout.”

Patrons of Sophie’s Journey Foundation included JLT Condor Cyclist David Mc Carty, Deca Ironman 32 Marathon Man Gerry Duffy, Legendary Runner Sonia O’ Sullivan, Limerick Hurler Graeme Mulcahy, World Track Cyclist Caroline Ryan, Former Pro Cyclist and Awarding Journalist Paul Kimmage, Team GB Cyclist Chloe Selman, Pro Cyclist Sam Bennett, Former Irish and Munster Rugby Player Denis Leamy.

https://www.facebook.com/sophiesjourneyfoundation/posts/2898260690449575

Recently, another ambassador for the foundation Irish hurler Barry Hennessy raised a total of €2900 by completing a four-mile run every four hours. These are only a few of the wonderful events organized to help raise money for children with life-limiting illnesses.

Sophie’s Journey Foundation has one big project coming up, Operation Garden Transformation, transforming Mary and Taylor Rose’s back garden. At present, the garden is not wheelchair accessible but this is going to change. This has been planned for a while but was delayed due to Covid 19. You can also support the project by donating to Sophie’s Journey Foundation. Due to Covid 19 guidelines, the project can’t have a volunteer capacity for work. You can help this beautiful young lady hopefully enjoy some newfound freedom.

Sophie’s Journey Foundation, after transforming the garden, will then have one more project before the Foundation will finish for good. Liam concluded his goodbye by saying, “Thanks again to everyone who has remembered Sophie throughout and has been there when we needed you. Stay safe through these mad times and we will see you all soon for the final event of Sophie’s Journey, with thanks, Liam and Stacey.”

To donate to Sophie’s Journey Foundation go HERE

For more News go HERE 

Limerick City Community Radio celebrates its 7th Anniversary!  LCCR 7th anniversary   LCCR 7th anniversary 

Limerick City Community Radio is celebrating its seventh anniversary.  LCCR 7th anniversary   

The voluntary, nonprofit, Limerick-based radio station has for the last seven years, voiced the community of Limerick City and its surrounding area while also providing quality entertainment for listeners.   

 Presenter Pat Foley. Picture: Dylan Frawley/ilovelimerick

The station was established under Richard Smith, Derek Shine, Mike O’Connor, Liam Byrne, John Frawley and John Murphy in 2014 and was later licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland on 99.9FM during weekends from January to December, following the station’s pilot run.     

Limerick City Community Radio started in a single room above Windmill Motors as an online station, the station has since moved its office to its permanent premises on Edward Street in 2020, which marked a new chapter in the history of LCCR.    

Since its establishment, the alternative radio station has worked tirelessly to give a voice to the ordinary people of Limerick and to help those in need. Notably, in 2019, the station remarkably held a 12-hour telethon to raise vital funds for Leon O’ Connor, a Limerick student that suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Staying true to its motto “Your City. Your station. Your voice”.    

Limerick City Community Radio currently hosts a range of shows, some of the most popular including Eric Fitzgerald with ‘The Front Room’, Richard Smith with ‘Kickin’ Country’, Sean Ryan with ‘The Foo Bar’ and Breda Ryan with both of her shows, ‘Bellissimo Radio’ and the ‘90s @ 9’.    

We chatted with Richard Smith, Chairperson of Limerick City Community Radio about the last seven years and the plans for the future: LCCR 7th anniversary 

.@LCCR1 is celebrating its 7th Birthday! Richard Smith, Chairperson of LCCR wants to thank all the voluntary radio presenters and the listeners for their amazing support! Here’s to the next 7 years! #LCCR #ilovelimerick #lovelimerick #lovinlimerick #limerickedgelimerickembrace pic.twitter.com/HVowwg2XvW

— #LimerickandProud (@ilovelimerick) March 19, 2021

What was the inspiration behind setting up Limerick City Community Radio and who started it?      

I was attending a radio production course in LCFE. One of the other attendees Derek Shine and myself hit it off and the idea came about. A meeting was then arranged around the kitchen table in my house with Mike O’Connor, Liam Byrne, John Frawley and John Murphy and LCCR was born.    

What has been the greatest challenge that you have experienced so far?      

The biggest challenge as most small voluntary organisations will know is funding. There are only certain programmes of funding that we can apply for as we are a City-based organisation and not yet a full-time station.    

 How different is LCCR now as opposed to when it first started?    

We started as an online station and later progressed to FM. This would not have been possible without the agreement and assistance of the board and management of WiredFM, the local student station based in Mary I & LIT. They kindly allow us to use the 99.9fm frequency each weekend.    

After seven years of being on-air, what is the most memorable thing to happen in the LCCR studio? 

I think that each volunteer or presenter would have their own experience that stands out. The two that stand out for me are the first-ever FM broadcast on 99.9fm on a Saturday morning. The other was a news bulletin that was meant to be edited as there was a swear word in the middle of it and it turned out that it wasn’t actually edited, and it went out as it was. The poor news reader’s phone didn’t stop all afternoon and they’ve never read the news again.    

Referring to your motto “Your City. Your station. Your voice” in what way do you help the people of Limerick?    

The door at LCCR is always open to community groups and organisations to either come in and talk about their organisations or even have their own slot either online or FM. The same goes for anyone that has an idea and would like to discuss it with us. We also facilitate TY’s, work placement students from many of the local schools, colleges and universities. We have also assisted some voluntary groups by supplying PA equipment for functions and events.    

What do you love most about LCCR and what makes it different from other radio stations?      

LCCR covers a vast range of topics, subjects and music genres. Not just on FM but online as well. One show you could be listening to Rock, another Country, another 80’s to name a few. Cookery, technology and disability issues are also regular shows at LCCR.    

How many shows do you currently have running?      

Online from Monday to Friday, there are twenty-one different shows. Some of these shows also run daily from Monday to Friday as we have a live schedule online from 8 am to 6\6.30pm. During the weekend, we run thirty-two different shows and two news bulletins.    

Can the people of Limerick expect any exciting, new projects from you shortly?      

We are currently exploring the feasibility of applying for a full-time community license. This may take a while and is something that we are working towards currently.    

Where do you see LCCR going in five years?    

We hope to see the expansion of our online service while we are applying for the full-time FM license.    

And lastly, what do you love most about Limerick?     

Limerick always has a great buzz about it and has great coffee shops and places to eat. I have been in Limerick for sixteen years and it’s never crossed my mind to move elsewhere.  

We are still coming to you on 99.9fm across Limerick City or online at https://t.co/tqMkS5QjpI #limerick #ilovelimerick #lovelimerick #community #communityspirit #communityradio #craol #WeCanDoThisTogether #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/9Oism6Ek1z

— Limerick City Community Radio (@LCCR1) April 5, 2020

Check out the shows: 

Eric Fitzgerald with The Front Room, 8 pm every Saturday night – a place to share music  

Breda Ryan with Bellissimo Radio, every Monday at 1 pm – interviews with hottest 90s stars 

Breda Ryan with The 90s @ 9, every Saturday night at 9 pm – your fave 90s music 

Sean Ryan with The Foo Bar, every 2nd Sunday at 4 pm – discussing what’s happening in the world of Technology 

Richard Smith with Kickin’ Country, every Sunday at 1 pm – a look at the latest and best in American Country music 

 For more information on LCCR go HERE

For more News go HERE