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Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh.
THE IT Tralee Foundation Board has today announced plans to hold a fundraising gala dinner this September, to honour and celebrate the life and times of one of Ireland’s most popular and much loved sons, the legendary Mícheál Ó’Muircheartaigh.
Guest of honour at the gala dinner will be President Michael D. Higgins and the event M.C. will be Des Cahill.
Mícheál holds a Fellowship from the Institute of Technology Tralee and is a member of the IT Tralee Foundation Board.
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All proceeds from the night will go to the Foundation to complete the Institute’s €16.5m Kerry Sports Academy. The gala dinner will take place on Saturday, September 22, at the Clayton Burlington Hotel, Dublin.
A table of ten will cost €5,000 and these are available to book by contacting the IT Tralee at 066 71 91787.
Director of the IT Tralee Foundation Board Ogie Moran said; “We are delighted to be awarded the honour of hosting this gala dinner to celebrate the life and career of Mícheál Ó’Muircheartaigh who has often been referred to as a national treasure and it promises to be a very special night for his family, Irish sport, and indeed, the larger GAA family. We plan to formally launch the event in March and given Mícheál’s popularity, we anticipate a strong interest for this very special occasion.”
IT Tralee President Dr. Oliver Murphy said “The Kerry Sports Academy has been on the masterplan for the IT Tralee for many years and I would like to sincerely thank Mícheál for the time he has given to us as a board member of the IT Tralee Foundation. It is testament to his unending generosity that he has decided to donate 100% of the proceeds from this fundraising gala dinner to this very worthy cause.”
The Kerry Sports Academy, which opens in January 2019, will support participants involved in sport both regionally, nationally and internationally.
The €16.5m Kerry Sports Academy is currently under construction at the North Campus of the IT Tralee and once opened it will allow people from all sporting disciplines, irrespective of ability, to enjoy, prepare and compete to the highest standards.
The Academy has been designed to address the needs of Paralympic & Special Olympic level athletes, as well as opening up a world of opportunities and accessibility to sports and recreation for people with disabilities in our society.
The IT Tralee has an esteemed international reputation for leadership in inclusion and adapted physical activity and is the only higher education provider globally to be awarded a UNESCO Chair. The title of the UNESCO Chair project is “Transforming the Lives of People with Disabilities, their Families and Communities through Physical Education, Sport, Recreation and Fitness.”
The Kerry Sports Academy will be home to:
• Health and Leisure Programmes at the IT Tralee;
• UNESCO Chair in Inclusive Physical Education, Sport Fitness, and Recreation;
• National Centre for Adapted Physical Activity – CARA.
• Partners to the project also include Kerry GAA and Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann in Kerry.
