Designer Marion honours her late brother's memory

Like many local people whose working lives have been curtailed by lockdown, Marion Murphy Cooney has been making use of the time to focus on getting fresh air and exercise.

An avid runner, Marion takes advantage of the options available within 5k of her home at Newtown. On Friday and Saturday week last she ran back-to-back 10k runs in support of the annual Milford 10k Run/Walk.

“Sure, one wouldn't be enough,” Marion joked. “Why do one when you can do two!”

She ran the first 10k on Friday night accompanied by her husband Kevin and the second on Saturday with a neighbour, Edyta, virtually. They raised some €2,400 for Milford Care Centre, a cause Marion wanted to support in memory of her brother Kevin (53), who died of liver failure at Milford in 2016.

“It was close to heart, that's why we did it,” Marion said. “Everybody has an affiliation with the hospice, unfortunately, or knows a story. They're amazing in there. They were so good, not only to my brother but to us as a family grieving.”

An award-winning fashion designer, Marion's online ready-to-wear trade remains viable, though her bespoke design business has been temporarily suspended as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions. She loves running and has completed several half-marathons; she was intending to do the New York half last year only for it to have been cancelled.

Getting out pretty much every day, Marion has latterly been joined on the road by her youngest daughter Caragh (10), who has turned the negativity of lockdown into a postive by embracing the opportunity to get out more. Mother and daughter now have a daily routine of running from their home to Portroe Cross and back. Marion reports that her daughter began the 5k as a walking challenge; now she has reduced her time over the distance from 50 to 35 minutes. “And she's always trying to improve her time,” Marion said. “There's never any complaint. Hail, rain or snow, we just go!”

The Newtown runner pointed out that a lot of local people have taken up exercise in lockdown with a new and healthy sense of challenge.

Many have entered running races, which are being held virtually with participants aiming to complete the challenge at their home location while still raising money for the cause concerned.

Marion mentioned the physical as well as mental health benefits of targeting an event, putting in the training and then going the distance on the day.

“It keeps you focused and motivated anyway, even if you don't do it,” she said. “And the evenings are getting brighter now so it's easier to get out there.”

Marion is still gratefully accepting donations for Milford Care Centre, which can be made through her social media pages.