Four walks are being provided in Upperchurch on Saturday April 5th to raise funds for a development project in Malawi and to remember the late Michael Sutton.
Mr Sutton died in 2020 and worked in Cashel while living in Thurles. He was hugely popular in the walking and charity sector in Ireland and was also a keen historian.
The project in Malawi is being led by Bishop John Ryan a native of Holycross and Michael’s sister – Josie Phelan from Newport. The funds will be used to provide educational resources in Malawi where the state will only provide a school if the community provides accommodation for teachers. On a previous visit volunteers from Tipperary created homes for two teachers to enable a school to open.
The project is expanding and in July a team of volunteers will travel to Malawi (at their own expense). Prior to that the funds raised will go towards the purchase of building materials, solar panels and water pumps that will be installed during the visit. Building tools are also being collected to help with training local people in Malawi with building skills especially roofing. Stephen Dwan, Ger Redser O’Grady, Josephine Phelan, Noel Buckley, Joe Bourke, Eamon Cornally, Sandra Dwyer, John Mockler and David Kearney. are amongst the volunteers travelling in July.
Donations to the fund will be accepted at the Upperchurch Community Centre from 11.30am on Saturday. The walks range from a 11km walk expected to take 3 – 4 hours to a one hour walk that is accessible for wheelchairs and buggies. Donations can also be made online on the Go Fund Me Page at this link here. In addition to the donations made at the Walking Event and on the Josie Phelan (nee Sutton) Malawi Fundraiser 2025 page on Go Fund Me, donations can be given to Fr Tony Ryan in Upperchurch or to Fr Celsius Tierney in Holycross.
