Huge crowds turned out in Ballybofey on Saturday morning for the official start of The Bear Run ’74.
The fifth staging of the annual event, the brainchild of Lifford man Keith ‘Bear’ Gamble, was held in aid of BUMBLEance, Ireland’s only dedicated children’s ambulance.
Until this year, €267,996 had been raised by The Bear Run ’74 and an in-house auction on Friday night at Jackson’s Hotel added a whopping €50,820 to that tally.
“The crowds are getting bigger all the time,” Bear said. “When I started this I was on my own and now it’s building and building every year. Everybody who helps me makes it easier.”
A total of 74 high spec super cars set off from Ballybofey The tape was cut by the Mayor of Donegal, Councillor Paul Canning, and Nadia Adam from Ashford Motors.
“I feel like Donegal is like my second home,” Nadia said. “We’re here for BUMBLEance – what an amazing charity. The fact that they don’t get any funding is unbelievable. It means so much to these kids. I met a little fella who uses the service and even getting it is so hard. It is so important.”
Councillor Canning added: “The work that goes into this is unbelievable. A phenomenal amount of money has been raised and it’s a positive story.”
Gamble did the first Bear Run in 2022 and has done four now, but has also held various car shows, including one recently at Lifford Stadium to honour the memory of Christian McCullagh, the 17-year-old from Raphoe who died in September and who was a huge fan of the Bear Run.
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Every car on The Bear Run ’74 this year had a sticker remembering the popular Raphoe teenager.
Bear said: “Christian loved this car so much. I just wanted to do something to remember him. He got so much out of the Bear Run and we just want to remember him.”
Bear’s father, Joseph, passed away at home in Croaghan Heights in July 2021 at the age of 74 – hence the name of the event.
Below are some more great shots from the event’s start this morning:
