Clare GAA star urges people to go up the hill for Jack and Jill this summer

Clare hurler and member of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), Peter Duggan, is urging people to become charitable All-Stars for a great local cause this summer and go Up the Hill for Jack and Jill.

Going Up the Hill for Jack and Jill is easy. Simply identify a local hill or mountain to suit your fitness and ability, and invite your family, friends, neighbours, or colleagues to join in the fun. Each €18 registration fee will help fund one hour of in-home nursing care and end-of-life support for children with highly complex and life-limiting medical conditions, up to the age of six years.

There are families in communities across the country being cared for right now by the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation, including nine families in Clare. In fact, a total of 80 families have been supported by Jack and Jill in Clare since the charity’s foundation in 1997.

2023 will be the ninth annual Up the Hill for Jack and Jill, kindly supported this year by the global healthcare company, Abbott. Organisers are hoping to raise over €75,000 for Jack and Jill’s vital services – equivalent to 4,167 hours of in-home nursing care and respite support – which is a lifeline for over 400 families currently availing of the service across the country.

For Peter Duggan, every game is an endurance test, but the endurance capacity of Jack and Jill families in supporting their children day in, day out, is next-level.

"Jack and Jill is a gift of time for so many families who face very tough challenges in their home life," he said.

"These families have a massive amount of resilience, but they need, and deserve, a break to enable them to recharge and face the next challenge. As a proud member of the Gaelic Players Association, I’m inviting our wonderful community of players and supporters to go Up the Hill with Jack and Jill, and the GPA, this summer, as we support these inspiring families who just need a helping hand every once in a while, from their Jack and Jill nurse."

Carmel Doyle, CEO of the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation said "We are delighted to have the support of Peter Duggan in encouraging people to go the extra mile for this year’s Up the Hill for Jack and Jill campaign."

"As with the GAA, Jack and Jill is all about community. We know there is no care like home care for a Jack and Jill child, and we want to do everything that we can to support parents in caring for their child at home in their communities, where they belong. It really is a lifeline to so many families who face an uphill challenge every day,"Ms Doyle continued.

"I hope people will come together for our extra-special Jack and Jill children to show them how much they care and to help make parents feel a little less isolated and alone in raising a child with highly complex medical needs."