Almost €5K raised for Cork wheelchair athlete after training accident

Almost €5,000 has been raised in three days for well-known Cork wheelchair athlete Jerry Forde, who needs a new race chair after his current chair was badly damaged in a road incident.

Jerry was involved in a collision with a car while training. While Jerry only received minor injuries, his racing chair was damaged substantially and needs to be replaced.

A new chair will cost €4,700 and this amount was raised in less than three days.

Jerry, who is a member of the Blarney Inniscarra Athletic Club, has been racing for over 30 years and has completed 474 marathons in his chair.

Jerry is a well-known character within racing circles and there was a huge outpouring of support and contributions to the Gofundme fundraiser.

The fundraiser was set up by fellow runner, Proinnsias O’Keeffe who got to know Jerry through running races and often supports Jerry on hillier courses such as the Beara Five Mile series.

“I’m delighted with the response, it’s amazing,” Proinnsias said, “I think the support is a testament to Jerry’s character. 

"A lot of people left comments, on the Gofundmepage, saying they have run with Jerry in past races and he always brought a positive attitude with him.” 

To see the fundraiser, log onto Gofundme and search ‘Get me back on my Wheels please.’