Local golf clubs get involved in cancer research drive

Mountbellew Golf Club and Connemara Golf Links are teeing off on a charity campaign called â€ËœDrive for Dads' for Breakthrough Cancer Research. The campaign, which was launched by fathers and golfers Michael Flatley, Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley and Shane Lowry, will run for a week from Father's Day to raise money for research into new treatments for the leading cancers affecting men in Ireland. â€ËœDrive for Dads' will see these participating golf courses and clubs in Ireland add €2 to members' and non-members' green fees during the week (June 17-24), and many will also host coffee mornings and charity bunkers in a drive to support cancer research into new treatments for fathers, brothers, sons, grandfathers, uncles, and friends affected by cancer in Ireland. All monies raised will specifically go towards research into lung, testicular, prostate, and stomach cancers. Currently, Ireland has the highest incidence of prostate cancer in Europe with the disease affecting one in every 13 men in the country. Over 90 per cent of those diagnosed with testicular cancer are younger than 50, and lung cancer is the cause of 20 per cent of all cancer deaths in Ireland. Breakthrough Cancer Research is currently working to fund research that will reduce these statistics. Participating clubs can be viewed on the event page www.drivefordads.ie.