Laois family to skydive in memory of beloved dad
The late Anthony Walsh pictured with his wife Irene and children Ellen, Laura and Tony
A COURAGEOUS Laois family will leap from the sky to raise funds for an ambulance service and hospital, which helped a beloved husband and dad in his darkest hour.
The Walsh family from The Heath will do a skydive in memory of Anthony Walsh, who sadly died in December 2023 after suffering a sudden stroke.
He is dearly missed by his wife Irene and their children Ellen, Laura, and Tony, as well as his former colleagues in the ESB and many friends.
As they plan the daring fundraiser, the Walsh quartet said: ‘As a family, we will be doing a skydive together in his memory, a way to honour his adventurous spirit and give back to those who were there for him and for us when we needed it most.’
The idonate fundraising page set up at Easter, titled ‘Skydive in memory of Anthony Walsh’, received a remarkable €5,000 on its first day and reached €8,000 by 23 April, with donations continuing to pour in. All funds raised will go to what the family describe as the ‘amazing’ ambulance service in Portlaoise and the ‘tremendous’ Stroke Unit at Tallaght Hospital.
The family was shocked when Anthony suffered a stroke and was rushed to Portlaoise hospital, before being transferred to Tallaght Hospital by National Ambulance Service (NAS) staff in Portlaoise. Despite the tireless efforts of staff in Tallaght’s Stroke Unit, he sadly passed away on 5 December.
Recalling those devastating days, the Walsh family said on the fundraising page: ‘During this heartbreaking time, the compassion and dedication of the medical teams not only ensured Anthony received the best possible care, but also gave us strength and support when we needed it most.
‘Thank you for helping us honour Anthony’s memory and for supporting the incredible teams at Tallaght Hospital and the Portlaoise Ambulance Service, whose care and dedication meant so much to us.’
In an update on Easter Sunday on behalf of the family, Ellen said: ‘We are completely blown away by the outpouring of support for our fundraiser and just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who’s donated, shared, or sent kind words our way.
‘Raising over €5,000 in just one day has truly exceeded anything we could have hoped for and it’s a testament to dad’s character.
‘The generosity we’ve seen is incredible and speaks volumes about the impact he had on so many people’s lives. We’re so grateful and we’d love to keep it going, so please continue to spread the word! Thank you, Irene, Ellen, Laura and Tony.’
The family will continue to give updates as a date is set for the memorial skydive in Clonbullogue Airfield, Co Offaly.
