A former cancer patient will row 100km down the Shannon to raise money for Cancer Care West.

Donnaca Kennedy will start from Carrick on Shannon on Saturday, 26 April with the intention of raising money for Cancer Care West.

Cancer Care West is a voluntary organisation set up to fill the gap in the health system providing support and accommodation to those attending Galway Hospital for cancer treatment. This treatment, although it takes only minutes each day, often extends over six or seven weeks.

As someone who took advantage of this facility and came away an enthusiastic supporter of the ideas and the staff who run it, Donnaca wanted to help the organisation to continue running with the "cheerful efficiency" he saw there.

Assisting Donnaca will be his wife Dickie and sons and daughters, Ciaran, Colm, Donal, Pierce, Ana, Helen, Aoife, Bairbre, Mary and Una. Also assisting will be the next generation of the Kennedy family: Tadhg, Killian, Caoimhe, Hannah, Aoife Tosiko, Liam, Darragh, Roisin, Niamh, Hugh, Conor and Donnaca Og.

Donnaca himself has spent most of his life on the Shannon, initially running Barge Holidays with his wife Dickie and later skippering the Moon River passenger vessel out of Carrick on Shannon and retiring last year (not exactly early retirement).

The boat Donnaca will row is a 17 ft lake boat built by Perry of Belmont which he bought second-hand in 1973. He will be backed up by a small barge skippered by one or more of the above named team.

Donations can be processed through Donnaca's blog: 100kmrow.blogspot.com.

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