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Soccer club fundraising for local team has Limerick links

A FUNDRAISER held in a village in north-west England has a Limerick link!

Ribchester, a community with 1,500 residents, played host to a concert at the local park, with all the funds raised going to support its soccer club, which has 21 age-group sides.

Codenamed ‘Rock on the Rec’, the gig is the brainchild of Ben Jones, and was co-organized by John Treacy, whose relatives are from Kilmallock.

John is the vice-chairman of Ribchester Rovers FC, with the club chaired by Chris Byrne, some of whose family lives near Dingle in Kerry.

John’s two aunts Lily Mulvihill and Mary Doona both live in Kilmallock, with many of his cousins ​​also raised in south Limerick.

Elizabeth, Mary, Patrick and Michael Mulvihill still live near the town, he says, as do siblings Dermot, Michael and Catherine Doona.

He visits Limerick twice a year, with his last trip over coming the weekend prior to the JP McManus Pro-Am.

On the same Ryanair flight as John from Manchester to Shannon were Liverpool FC legends Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen, who both teed off at Adare Manor.

The ‘Rock on the Rec’ gig was held at the same time as the annual Ribfest arts festival, with the organizing committee chaired by Peter Rabbitts.

“A great day” was had, said John, who added that the concert raised more than £11,000 for the club.

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