THE second annual ‘Walk with M.E.’ fund-raising event will take place at venues across Donegal and Australia on St Stephen’s Day.
The ‘Walk with M.E’ event is organised by  John Ross Molloy who lost his older sister Mary Ellen in a horrific car accident in Australia just a few days before Christmas in 2019.
Last year’s event raised €33,215 and cheques were handed over to the two charities on February 9, what would have been Mary Ellen’s 28th birthday.
Mary Ellen was killed when a tree fell on a taxi she was travelling in with two of her fellow nurses. Ms Molloy died instantly on Friday, December 20, 2019 in Melbourne.

Laid to rest

The services of the KRBT were used to bring Mary Ellen home to her parents Terence and Angela, her two younger brothers John Ross and Karl Joseph and the Molloy and Gillespie families in early January. She was laid to rest in the graveyard adjacent to the Church of the Holy Family, Ardara, on January 2 last year.
On St Stephen’s Day, Mary Ellen’s former work colleagues and friends will come together once more to take part in a series of walks in Donegal
The Irish Australian Support and Resource Bureau has also organised a dawn walk in Melbourne.
Speaking to the Donegal News, John Ross said his family had been humbled by the support they received.
“Comprehending such a tragic loss, so sudden and unfair, remains impossible to figure out on some days,” he said.
“Some of us reached out to counselling services, which has proved invaluable in the healing process,” he added.
Making time and talking to each other has also helped and, inspired by Mary Ellen, those friends and family members have decided to organise another “Walk with M.E.”
“We are so grateful to have such amazing counselling services in the Downstrands Family Recourse Centre available to help us. We now want to help them by fundraising and also to raise awareness on mental health considering Mary Ellen’s career and her belief in counselling.
“This service can help people smile again and this just seems like the right idea to remember Mary Ellen,” he said.
Mr Colin Bell said that he was ‘dumbstruck’ when he saw €16,630 had been lodged in the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust account earlier this year
“The fantastic funds raised in her name will be a beautiful legacy and will help so many families who lose a loved one tragically abroad,” he added.
The “Walk with M.E.” will take place at Pearse Memorial Park, Ardara from 12 noon to 2.30pm. The proceeds from this walk will be divided between local charities and The Kevin Bell Foundation.
“The response so far has blown us away. Last year we raised over €30,000 and we split the walk between six different locations and this year we will do the same. Half of all the money raised will go to ‘Kevin Bell’ while a portion of each location’s walk will go to the local charity in their area,” he said.
The walks will take place in: Pearse Memorial Park Ardara, Narin Beach, Ionad Fiontraiochta Sliabh Liag Distillery Building Carrick, The Blue Haven Kilcar, Donegal Town and Melbourne
If you can’t make any of these walks don’t worry. You can do these walks wherever you are and whenever you want.