We, second year Sport Science students, planned, organised, and hosted a 5km colour run on Tuesday 1st of April 2025. The run was in memory of a former staff member of the Department of Physical Education and Sport Science here at the University of Limerick, Jacinta O’Brien.
Jacinta was an inspiration to everyone around her and a passionate advocate for healthy living. It was a privilege to carry forward her legacy of promoting health and well-being. In total 404 tickets were sold, which was a complete sell out. The run has raised a record breaking amount exceeding previous years, for The Dillon Quirke Foundation and The Irish Cancer Society, exceeding all expectations.
On the night, we ran a raffle in the stables following the event, including unbelievable prizes like 2 Munster rugby tickets, a signed Tipperary jersey and much more. Our winner of the race was a former sport science student and classmate of ours, Niall McLoughlin, running it in a time of 19:07.
With impeccable weather conditions and a DJ at the start line, the atmosphere generated by participants during the warmup was electric. In the build-up to the run, we had guest speakers Dave Mahedy – who was a friend of Jacinta O’Brien’s and spoke so eloquently about Jacinta’s life and impact on those around her; and Dan Quirke, Dillion Quirke’s fathers, who spoke to spread awareness about what The Dillion Quirke foundation do. Finally, before the warmup, we held a minute’s silence in honour of Aoife Shelly, who sadly passed away a few days prior to the event. Aoife was a member of the PESS department in UL and will be sadly missed.
Pictured are participants of the colour run partaking in the warm-up prior to the event.
Pictured above are Dave Mahedy (R) – a friend of Jacinta and Dan Quirke (L) – Dillon Quirke’s father.
Throughout the run, at each kilometre mark, we had chalk stations where members of the course threw chalk on the runners creating a colourful scene for the evening.
Prior to the run, we organised a fundraiser in the University courtyard to try and boost participation and ticket sales for the event. We hosted push-up challenge which drew huge awareness and donations for the charities. Thanks to Fine Wines and McCabes Pharmacy for the prizes for most male and female push-ups. 100+ people participated in the competition the day and over €300 was raised for charity.
The second-year Sport Science students, along with Department staff—Dr. Ian Sherwin and Jack Hickey—would like to extend their sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of the 21st Annual Jacinta O’Brien Memorial Event. Special thanks go to Shauna O’Halloran at UL Student Life for managing the event finances and offering valuable input; Rob Hickey, UL’s safety officer, for guiding students through the Health and Safety planning and for his assistance on the day; and Neasa O’Donnell at UL Sport for her support in coordinating the event.
We are also grateful to Dave Mahedy, who shared heartfelt words about Jacinta’s life prior to the run; Dan Quirke for speaking about the importance of the work carried out by The Dillon Quirke Foundation; and the Stables for kindly hosting the participants and raffle after the event.
Finally, we deeply appreciate the generosity of the local businesses who donated prizes, including Black Rabbit, Chill The Beans, Scholars, UL Sport, Tipperary GAA, Stables, McCabes Pharmacy, Zambrero, The Physio/Recovery Lab, Munster Rugby, Health UL, UL Merch, Wholesupp, UL Sport Arena, Limerick Fruit and Veg, and Borrisoleigh Bottling Limited.
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