Tralee Woman Raises Close To €1,500 For Ataxia In Skydive and Fundraising Campaign

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Paula Skydive

Pictured is Paula Walsh after completing her tandem skydive for Ataxia Ireland on Saturday in Longford.

A TRALEE woman completed her charity skydive this past weekend at the Aerodrome in Longford as she aimed to raise both much needed funds and awareness of the debilitating disease Ataxia.

Connolly Park native, Paula Walsh, has been effortlessly striving to raise the profile of the disease in recent years and months after she lost her sister Eileen to the condition back in October 2013 (see previous story here).

Paula had already raised over €900 already for Ataxia Ireland before this when she held a fundraising ‘coffee and cake’morning in the House restaurant a few weeks ago.

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This was to only be the tip of her efforts however, with one eye always being stuck on the dreaded date of the dive, August 22, which was to be the main fundraising part of the campaign.

This turned out to be a great success in the end with Paula raising an approximate total of just under €1,500 for the charity along with succeeding in raising the profile of the disease ten fold.

“It [the skydive] was amazing, it was absolutely fantastic,” she said when speaking to TraleeToday.ie this week.

“I was absolutely terrified. The team of instructors at the Aerodrome though, they were just brilliant. As soon as I spoke to them, I felt like I was in safe hands. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had,” she continued.

“The fact that I did it for Ataxia made it even better again, it all raised awareness. There was 41 people who did the Skydive for Ataxia, but 14 of those people were actually in wheelchairs, they suffered with Ataxia. To see the courage by them, it was just amazing. Ataxia Ireland is just a fantastic organisation with an amazing group of people,” she finished.

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