Pictured left to right after their charity skydive are Strabane Sigersons club-members Rian Coyle, Dara Langan, Ciaran McLaughlin, Hayden Snodgrass and Rian Patton.
By John Harrington
At its best the GAA is about families and communities and the bonds that bind them together.
Those values were very much in evidence two weeks ago when a group of childhood friends from Strabane, Tyrone completed a sky-dive that raised valuable funds for two very worthy charities, the Anthony Nolan charity which saves and improves the lives of people with blood cancer and blood disorders, and the Cancer Fund for Children.
The four boys who did the ‘BarryChute’ sky-dive – Dara Langan, Rian Coyle, Hayden Snodgrass, and Rian Patton – were motivated to do so as a tribute to Dara’s much loved father Barry who died from blood cancer in October 2023.
They’re all members of Strabane Sigerson GAA club and were joined on the day by club member and former Ulster GAA President, Ciaran McLaughlin, who has a proud record of supporting young people in the club.
Barry’s wife and Dara’s mum, Maureen, watched nervously from the ground and was hugely proud of them all to finally complete their mission after four previous attempts had been cancelled due to unsuitable weather.
“You just have to keep going and the charity fundraiser gave us a wee purpose, something to focus on for the last year and a half,” Maureen told GAA.ie
“The boys were all chatting one time and saying they wanted to do something for Dara that would be for a charitable cause so they came up with the idea of a sky-dive.
“They're all childhood friends. They go to different schools but they've met through playing Gaelic with Sigersons. They've been playing together since they were four and they still are all on the same team together.
“So we went from there and started fundraising with raffles and various initiatives. The Tyrone team through Cathal McShane donated two jersies and we also got a Donegal jersey signed by their players and we raffled them off.
“Ciaran McLaughlin got one from the Galway team and we raffled that off as well. We also have two JustGiving pages. One for a Cancer Fund for Children and one for the Anthony Nolan, and all the money raised there goes straight to the charities.”
“We've got a good lot of help and we just want to sincerely thank everyone who has been a part of that, especially Ciaran who did so much for it and even went and did the sky-dive with the boys.
“The Anthony Nolan charity and Cancer Fund for Children were both so helpful, always asking could they help in any way and sending us leaflets and t-shirts and everything.
“The boys' secondary schools were all very supportive too as was their old primary school. They all raised money for them as well. The club was very supportive too, it was just a great community thing.
“Barry was a member of the Urney club which would be another club in Strabane and they raised money as well.
“I think in total we’ve raised about £18,000 so far between both charities so we’re delighted with that.”
Dara Langan pictured doing his sky-dive for charity.
Ciaran McLaughlin stepped down as Ulster GAA President last month after his three-year term came to an end and Langan believes he deserves great credit for taking so much time from his busy schedule to help with the ‘BarryChute’ fundraiser.
“Ciaran was helping the boys with the Duke of Edinburght award last year and one day in passing I said to him would he fancy being a wee support for the boys when jumping out of an aeroplane,” says Langan.
“He was like, 'aye, no bother'. I didn't think he'd actually say yes but it was no bother to him. He was just like, 'what do you want me to do and when do you want me to do it?'
“He was a great support for all the boys and helped a lot too with promoting the fundraiser and making sure it was in the paper. He was brilliant. He kept their spirits up on the day itself as well.
“The boys do quite a bit of volunteering down in the Sigersons club as well so they are quite involved in terms of helping out the younger kids and that stuff too and Ciaran McLaughlin is very much a mentor to them.
“He keeps them going and keeps them right. It's good in this day and age to have a mentor like that to keep boys on the right path.”
They’ve finally complete their parachute jump at the fifth attempt but the ‘BarryChute’ team aren’t finished raising money for good causes just yet.
“We're hoping to do a walk on the 16th of March up the Stairway to Heaven for the Cancer Fund for Children because that's Barry's birthday weekend,” says Langan.
“That'll be us finished for this year but in a couple of years’ time the boys want to go and do abseiling in Croke Park because you have to be 18 to do that.
“They'll give me a heart-attack! Even the day watching the sky-dive I was just saying, 'please get down on the ground quickly!'”
You can still donate to the ‘Barrychute’ fundraiser HERE.