Shane McAuliffe and ‘The Flying Ark’ Mission of Mercy

Irish international aid agency Bóthar is delighted to announce that its 25th anniversary airlift of 5,300 food-and-income producing animals to Rwanda is to be ‘captained’ by none other than All-Ireland winning Dublin manager and pilot Jim Gavin. Included are: Included are: Alan Fitzgibbon, McAuliffe Pig Farms; Dan Murphy, McAuliffe Trucking driver; Maria O’Brien and baby Maurice O Brien, Truly Irish pig farmers in Mitchelstown; Shane McAuliffe//// Captain Jim Gavin, David Ronan, Truly Irish pig farmer from Cashel; Mike McAuliffe, McAuliffe Pig Farms and Niamh Mulqueen, corporate relations executive director, Bóthar. Photograph:Diarmuid Greene / True Media — Irish international aid agency Bóthar is delighted to announce that its 25th anniversary airlift of 5,300 food-and-income producing animals to Rwanda is to be ‘captained’ by none other than All-Ireland winning Dublin manager and pilot Jim Gavin. Included are: Included are: Alan Fitzgibbon, McAuliffe Pig Farms; Dan Murphy, McAuliffe Trucking; Maria O’Brien and baby Maurice O Brien, Truly Irish pig farmers in Mitchelstown; Shane McAuliffe, Interchem; Captain Jim Gavin, David Ronan, Truly Irish pig farmer from Cashel; Mike McAuliffe, McAuliffe Pig Farms and Niamh Mulqueen, corporate relations executive director, Bóthar. Photograph:Diarmuid Greene / True Media

An MNG Airlines Airbus A300 cargo plane departed Shannon Airport last week and bound for Kigali in Rwanda with an early morning stopover in Cairo.

On board were 37 in-calf heifers, three bulls for the Rwandan Government National Bovine Breeding Scheme, 260 pigs, 100 goats, and 5,000 chicks.

Flying Ark

Also on board were 5,000 doses of Bovine Semen. This ‘Flying Ark’ was organised by Bóthar as part of their 25th anniversary.

The cost of airlifting the pigs was covered by Volunteers in Irish Veterinary Assistance (VIVA) and Castleisland native, Shane McAuliffe raised €13,000 towards the cost over the last few months.

“My personal goal was anywhere between €10,000 and €15,000 so I am absolutely delighted with the amount. This would not have been possible without the support and generosity of so many Castleisland locals, pig farmers from around Ireland and companies involved in the pig industry,” said a grateful Shane.

Shane McAuliffe, Interchem and Niamh Mulqueen from Bóthar pictured at Roscrea Mart where the organising of the animals was taking place prior to travelling to Shannon Airport. Photograph: Diarmuid Greene / True Media

Heifer InternationalJim Gavin

A total of 130 families in Western Rwanda have been trained by partners Heifer International on all aspects of pig rearing and each family will receive two pigs.

Female piglets from the litter the pigs give birth to will be passed on to other people in the community so this project has the potential to provide a sustainable income for thousands of people who live on less than $1 a day.

Go Fund Me

“I’ve also signed up to take part in a sky dive to help raise awareness of both VIVA and the airlift although weather has postponed it a few times and the sky dive season finishes this month so it is likely I will have to wait until next spring to do it.

“The majority of donations came in online via my GoFundMe page and I am leaving it open for another few days in case anyone would like to make a contribution,” Shane concluded.

You can log on to Shane’s ‘go fund me’ page at: https://www.gofundme.com/flyronnietorwanda

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