Charity walk in the Slieve Blooms on Sunday
Event followed by a BBQ and music in Camross.
A charity walk will take place in Monicknew in the Slieve Blooms this Sunday followed by a BBQ and music in Camross.
The Michael Sutton Charity Memorial Walk will take place this Sunday 16 August, in Monicknew, a scenic woodland and recreation area in the Slieve Bloom Mountains on the border of counties Laois and Offaly.
The walk is named after Michael (better known as 'Mick') Sutton, a Co Tipperary native who passed away in 2020. Mick was an avid hiker and organised dozens of charity fundraising walks throughout his lifetime. His sister Josephine Phelan, who lives in Camross, Co Laois is now carrying on that tradition.
Sunday will be a fun day out for the entire family, particularly given there will be a buggy-friendly walk complete with face-painting for younger participants!
Registration for the walks begins at 11am in The Camross Inn (Eircode R32 FY75).
The first walk is the Bocadh Lodge Loop. It is 7.5km in length, takes three hours to complete and is a moderate level of difficulty. Car pool to Monicknew at 11.30am (no harm to bring a stick for this walk!)
The second walk is the Riverside Walk. It is classed as easy, is 2.5km in length and will take one hour. Car pool to Monicknew at noon.
The third walk is a buggy-friendly walk complete with face painting in the Community Park in Camross at 12.30pm.
Walkers and non-walkers alike will then gather in The Camross Inn (Bergin’s) where there will be a BBQ and music from 2pm, kindly supported by Pauline Bergin and the Bergin family.
All proceeds raised will go towards a number of projects in Mzuzu, Malawi.
Lusekelo School of Computing
These projects include developing further education opportunities at the Lusekelo School of Computing, a school which provides education in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), at a nominal fee, to vulnerable young people in northern Malawi. This school was established by Ungweru - an NGO set up by Bishop John Ryan from Holycross, Co Tipperary. Bishop Ryan is a member of St. Patrick's Missionary Society (The Kiltegan Fathers) and has spent over 40 years in northern Malawi.
Walk organiser Josephine Phelan has been travelling to Malawi almost every year since 2014 and the funds she has raised in that time have supported the refurbishment of the Lusekelo School of Computing. Proceeds have also gone towards the purchase of computers, photocopiers and textbooks for the school.
A retired Business Studies-Computer Applications Teacher and Guidance Counsellor, Josephine has spent approximately six weeks on each of her visits to Malawi, delivering an intense Microsoft Office and Job-Preparation Skills course on each trip.
Malawi Heart to Hand Project
Funds raised will also be donated to the Malawi Heart to Hand Project which is a long-established charity which has worked with people in need in Malawi, also through Bishop John Ryan.
Heart to Hand volunteers have developed a carpentry workshop and have gifted the people of Mzuzu a sewing room converted from a 40ft container which was sent out in 2025. Volunteers from Heart to Hand have travelled to Malawi on many occasions to roof schools in remote villages.
Heart to Hand is focused on building trade skills to empower local people through shared knowledge and the resources provided.
All of the individuals from all of the initiatives referenced above cover their own expenses when visiting Malawi.