04 August 2017

Over 100 cyclists will be welcomed at the Manor West Shopping Centre on 11th August at 2pm.

Manor West Shopping Centre and Retail Park will welcome cyclists from the 17th Annual ‘Tour de Munster’ held in aid of Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI) and individual beneficiaries on 11th August 2017, from 2pm-6pm. This will be the first time the tour has used Manor West as its Tralee stop off point.

Manor West and the Down Syndrome Ireland Kerry branch, are planning a range of fun activities for the day's celebrations, including samba drummers, zumba dancers, balloon modelling, face painting, traditional music and dancing plus much more! There will also be a Spinathon, and Radio Kerry’s Brendan Fuller will be there with his Afternoon Show chatting to the event organisers and giving away some fantastic prizes.

Speaking about the event, Centre Manager for Manor West, Derek Rusk, said, “We are looking forward to welcoming Tour de Munster and delighted that Manor West is the Tralee stop off point this year. The tour is a great support to so many charities, the main one being DSI and I am encouraging all locals to come down to Manor West Shopping Centre to show your support for the cyclists. We have tonnes of fun activities to entertain everyone, from Zumba dancers to a spinathon, it’s set to be a really great day”.

The four day charity cycle, which starts and finishes in Cork, takes place from Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th August. The event will see cycling legend Sean Kelly and over 100 amateur cyclists cycle over 600km around the six counties of Munster, raising funds for the Munster branches of DSI and individual beneficiaries.

Tour de Munster organiser Paul Sheridan said, “The funds raised have made a tremendous difference to the lives of people with Down Syndrome in Munster. Going into our 17th year, it’s amazing to see how far the event has come”.

Paul continued, “Manor West is a much welcomed stop off point, Derek, Manor West and the team at the DSI Kerry Branch have done a terrific job in organising the cyclists arrival to Tralee and we are all looking forward to the event”.

This year, the tour aims to raise €150,000 with monies going towards essential services that are needed for programmes, such as a Home Teacher; Speech and Language Therapy, Early Development Groups and Adult Literacy Programmes.

Chairperson of Down Syndrome Ireland’s Kerry Branch, Risteard Pierce, said; “Down Syndrome Ireland is dependent on fundraising, we receive very little government funding, about 90% of the €2.4 million we need to run our services is independently fundraised. Events like Tour de Munster are crucial to our branches meeting the needs of families and service users.”

Risteard continued, “The response to Tour de Munster has been astounding, going into its 17th year, it really shows you how committed the local branches and cyclists are to keeping our programmes going. We are very thankful of the support from Derek and Manor West Shopping Centre, Friday the 11th will be a fantastic day of family fun and celebrations, we hope everyone will come out to support the amazing cyclists.”