For the 20th successive year the Tour de Munster will roll into Tipperary later today.
The 640 kilometre 4-day event in aid of the Munster branches of Down Syndrome Ireland is even more important this year as Covid-19 has impacted on their fundraising efforts.
Event organiser Paul Sheridan says Down Syndrome people have been particularly badly effected by the pandemic with many of them still cocooning.
“Many of them haven’t been able to access Speech & Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and other vital services because they could not attend such specialists. That’s a backlog that will have to be addressed because the challenges faced by a person with Down Syndrome are much greater and the need for money is going to more acute than ever.”
“That’s what drove our decision to press on with the event in spite of Covid-19. There is a huge need for the finances that are going to be required to address the imbalance that will exist in the lives of people with Down Syndrome.”
Once again former World Number 1 Sean Kelly will be with the cyclists as they leave Cork City this morning and make their way to Killaloe via Lismore, The Vee, Clogheen, Cahir, Bansha, Tipperary and Birdhill.
