Kanturk Couple's Marathon Effort Raises Over €11,000 for the Charity That Helped Their Family Through Cancer
Amanda and Kevin Higgins from Kanturk in Co. Cork have raised €11,435 for Cancer Connect, the volunteer-led charity that provides free transport for cancer patients travelling to and from hospital appointments — a service the couple had never heard of until it became essential to their own family.
Background
Cancer Connect operates quietly and without fanfare across the Cork region, coordinating a network of volunteer drivers who ferry patients to and from cancer-related appointments at hospitals in the city. For many patients, particularly those in rural areas like north Cork, the service is not a convenience but a necessity. Public transport connections to Cork University Hospital and the Mercy University Hospital can be unreliable or non-existent from smaller towns, and the cost of taxis or private hire over weeks of treatment can be prohibitive.
The charity relies almost entirely on fundraising to sustain its operations. Government funding covers approximately one-third of its running costs, leaving the remainder to be raised through events, donations, and the goodwill of local communities. This funding gap means that every sponsored run, street collection, and community event has a direct and measurable impact on the number of patients the charity can serve.
For the Higgins family, Cancer Connect was unknown until Amanda's sister, Maria, was diagnosed with cancer and required regular treatment in Cork city. The logistics of getting to and from appointments, week after week, quickly became a significant burden — until someone mentioned the charity. The experience transformed the family's understanding of what volunteer-led community services can mean in practice, and planted the seed for what would become a substantial fundraising effort.
Key Developments
The fundraising campaign ran across two separate events in May 2026. Kevin Higgins took part in the Analog Devices Cork City Half Marathon, using his participation to attract sponsorship from friends, family, and colleagues. Simultaneously, Amanda Higgins organised a street collection in Kanturk on 8 May, which drew strong support from local businesses and residents who turned out to contribute.
The combination of the two efforts produced a final total of €11,435, which was formally presented to Cancer Connect representatives at a ceremony on 14 June. The figure represents a significant contribution to a charity whose annual budget is modest by the standards of larger national organisations but whose impact on individual patients is immeasurable.
Local businesses in Kanturk played a notable role in the success of the street collection, with several shops and traders making contributions that helped push the total beyond the €10,000 mark. The response from the town reflected a wider community investment in the cause — a recognition that cancer touches almost every family in Ireland, and that services like Cancer Connect fill a gap that statutory services cannot.
Why It Matters
The Cancer Connect story illustrates something important about how healthcare actually works in rural Ireland. The formal health system — hospitals, consultants, treatment centres — is only part of the picture. Getting patients to and from that system, reliably and without financial stress, is a challenge that falls largely outside the remit of the HSE and is instead met by volunteer organisations that depend on community generosity to survive.
This is not a new problem. Rural transport has been a persistent gap in Irish healthcare provision for decades, and cancer patients are among those most acutely affected. A patient undergoing chemotherapy may need to travel to Cork city two or three times a week for months. The cumulative cost of that travel, added to the physical and emotional toll of treatment, can be overwhelming. Cancer Connect removes one element of that burden.
The Higgins family's fundraising effort is also a reminder of how personal experience drives community action. They did not set out to become charity fundraisers. They became aware of a need through their own family's experience, and they responded. That pattern — personal experience leading to community action — is the engine of much of Ireland's voluntary sector, and it deserves recognition.
Local Impact
In north Cork, where Kanturk sits at the heart of a largely rural hinterland, the distances involved in accessing specialist healthcare are significant. The town is roughly 50 kilometres from Cork city, and for patients without access to a car or a willing driver, that distance can feel insurmountable. Cancer Connect's volunteer network bridges that gap, providing not just transport but also companionship and reassurance for patients who might otherwise be making difficult journeys alone.
The €11,435 raised by the Higgins family will fund a meaningful number of patient journeys. Cancer Connect estimates that each return trip to Cork city costs the charity approximately €30 to €40 in volunteer expenses and administration. The Kanturk fundraiser alone could fund several hundred such journeys — a tangible and lasting contribution to the health and wellbeing of patients across the region.
What's Next
Cancer Connect is continuing to recruit volunteer drivers across the Cork region, particularly in rural areas where demand is highest and supply of volunteers is thinnest. The charity is also exploring partnerships with local businesses and community groups to develop more sustainable funding streams that reduce its dependence on one-off fundraising events. Anyone interested in volunteering or donating can contact the charity directly through its Cork office. The Higgins family have indicated they intend to continue fundraising for Cancer Connect in future years.
