Jerry to honour a ‘brilliant dad’

A man who lost his father to motor neurone disease is setting out to run 10km in all 32 counties in memory of his dad.

Jerry Twomey, whose father John died in 2010, is undertaking the challenge to raise awareness and funds for motor neuron disease care and support.

“We met angels and helpers in many forms while dad suffered his illness with dignity. The Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA) was of immeasurable support to us and are an endlessly worthy charity to go the distance for,” said Jerry.

Jerry has been training for his challenge since January and said at times, completing the challenge seemed way beyond him.

He said: “What better way to honour the memory of my brilliant dad than to face a challenge bigger than I feel possible. I also wanted to do something in every county in Ireland in support of everyone who is, or has been, affected by this devastating disease,” he added.

Jerry will be taking on the challenge throughout July and says he would be very grateful for some company along the way if anyone wants to join him for a few kilometres.

For more information or to follow the run, visit #runningthecountry on Twitter and Instagram @runforimnda. He can be contacted directly at

runforimnda@gmail.com.

Motor neurone disease is a progressive neurological condition that attacks the motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord.

There is currently no known cure.