Juliette Fallon (8) passes a ball to her classmates in a video they made together
Dozens of pupils from St Comán’s Wood National School in Roscommon Town will take part in a “Commun-athon” on Saturday to mark what would have been their first holy communion.
At least 28 second-class students have already managed to raise more than €5,000 for the Irish Cancer Society ahead of their marathon event this weekend.
Beginning at midday on Saturday, May 16, each student will walk, run, hop or skip 3km, with the group completing a total of two marathons.
St Colman’s Wood pupil Juliette Fallon (8) and her mother Goretti Dwyer came up with the novel idea as a way for the children to mark their special day together.
“We cannot believe it. We thought we might get to about €500 or even €1,000 but it has just exploded,” Goretti told the Roscommon Herald.
“We are hoping people going along the road will cheer them on and beep their cars,” she said, adding that a number of students will be running along the Galway Road while maintaining social distancing.
Communion apparel is encouraged but not mandatory, and taking part is open to all students of St Coman’s Wood, regardless of whether or not they were due to take their communion.
Ahead of the big day, some of the second-class pupils created a “together apart” video.
We are so incredibly proud of our group of 2nd class kids who have embraced the idea of doing two collective marathons to mark their postponed First Communion Day #togetherapart while raising money for the Irish Cancer Society. We originally hoped to raise €500 and have been blown away by the enormous generosity and support our fun-loving 8 year olds have received. Please take a minute to watch this clip our kiddies have made to say THANKS!#communathon #roscommoncommunathon #irishcancersociety #roscommon Irish Cancer Society Shannonside FM Roscommon HeraldRoscommon People
Posted by Goretti Dwyer on Wednesday, May 13, 2020
