MEMBERS of a Tralee family are set to climb Mount Brandon later this month in memory of a much loved woman who passed away eight years ago from cancer.

Kathleen Collins will be joined by her daughter Shauna, brother John and up to 30 other family members and friends on June 26 in west Kerry to remember Ann Collins, Kathleen’s sister.

“This is something I have wanted to do for some time now and finally decided — while walking from Toneavane to Curraheen with my daughter Shauna — that this is the year to do it,” said Kathleen.

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“What started out with just the two of us is now standing at between 25 and 30 family and close friends heading for Brandon.  We initially thought we would get €10 from anyone going up the mountain and donate it to Palliative Care but then we thought why not go a step further and open it to the public to donate and we might get a little bit more.  So we set up a GoFundMe page and set a target of €300, to our delight we are almost at €2,000,” she added.

Kathleen explained why they were taking on the challenge.

“My sister Ann Collins passed away in October 2013.  She had been diagnosed with a secondary cancer in January of that year.  She received palliative care almost straight away.  The care, attention and treatment she got from day one was exceptional.  They were also very supportive to our whole family through the nine months.  Ann fought her battle bravely.”

“Ann was a bubbly full of life person and was admired and loved by everyone she ever met.  She grew up in St Johns pk, Tralee.  She moved to England in her late teens but returned home after a few years,” said Kathleen.

Ann is survived by her daughter Holly, (who’s now 14 years old) her mom Mary, sisters Mary, Helen, Gerardine, Kathleen and brother John.

If you want to donate to the gofundme page please click on the following link https://www.gofundme.com/f/climbing-brandon-for-ann?utm_campaign=p_cp_display&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer