ULSTER GAA stars are set to take to the skies in aid of raising funds for two worthwhile causes.
Jarlath Burns, who is the running to become the next GAA president, former Down senior football Benny Coulter and Tyrone Ladies All-Ireland Intermediate Championship winner Gemma Begley are among those who will take the 15,000 feet leap.
They are among the GAA figures from each of Ulster’s nine counties taking part in the charity skydive on March 12 to raise money for the Air Ambulance NI and Prostate Cancer research.
Other sports star include Antrim's Jane Adams, Fermanagh's Marty McGrath and Donegal ladies senior football manager Maxi Curran.
As well as gathering funds, the GAA stars are jumping from the sky to raise awareness of the two charities. They will be highlighting how more than 4,500 men across the island of Ireland are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year.
The prostate cancer research team, which is based at the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research at Queen’s University, Belfast, is focused on improving treatments for those patients with the most serious types of prostate cancer.
The team, led by Professor Joe O’Sullivan, Professor Suneil Jain and oncologist Dr Aidan Cole, is dedicated to ensuring that its patients and their families have the best treatments at the correct time and that survival rates continue to improve for men diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Funds raised will also go to the Air Ambulance NI, which works in partnership with the NI Ambulance Service (NIAS), to provide the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the north.
The charity’s operational helicopter carries a crew compiling pilot, doctor, and paramedic, 365 days of the year operating for 12 hours every day.
To support a GAA skydiver and donate to the charities, please visit ulster.gaa.ie/skydive
