A Donegal man has raised a stunning €8,000 for charities in Donegal after running the Dublin Marathon in October in honour of his mum.

Barry Chambers, from Castlefinn, took on the challenge he called ‘Marathon for Mum’ in honour of Margaret Chambers, who sadly passed away in 2020 after a long battle with cancer.

Barry, who now lives in Killygordon, raised €8,000 in total with half going to the Oncology Unit Patient Comfort Fund, and the other half going to the Gerry Lane National Air Ambulance Service. 

Barry said:“My mother asked me to do something for the oncology, she was in and out of it and was well looked after, and the Air Ambulance is a great service and I know how important these services are.”

A member of the Finn Valley Flying Club, he also held a coffee morning at the club the week before the Marathon to raise extra funds. 

Barry Chambers seated Centre presents Gerry Lane & Damien Bradley of the National Air Ambulance Service with a Cheque for €4000 . Barry ran the Dublin City Marathon in memory of his late mother Margaret and raised a total of €8000 , with the other €4000 being presented to the Oncology/Haematology unit, Letterkenny University Hospital. Also included in the photo are members of the Finn Valley Flying Club who helped Barry are Front Row (l-r) Aine Chambers, Lorraine Bradley, Gabriel Lafferty, Amelia Lafferty. Back Row (l-r) Niamh Chambers, Margaret Ried, Paul McGirr, Caroline Lafferty, Kevin Kelly, Christopher Kilpatrick, Andrea McCarron ,Allister Killpatrick and Aimee Lafferty. Photo by Gerard McHugh Photography.

Barry ran the 2016 Dublin Marathon but was just focused on finishing this time, and he did so in a terrific time of 3:29:14

“I went a bit too anxious at the start and you pay for it then,” Barry explained

”But I wasn’t out for a time, I was doing it for the charities.”

The GoFundMe can be donated to here.