'The clouds parted' Laois parish priest and former Laois Rose in skydive fundraiser

Laois Parish Priest Fr David Vard has led 10 brave parishioners including a former Laois Rose and a Garda in an exhilarating 10,000 ft parachute jump, raising a huge sum of money for their churches.

The Reach for the Skies fundraiser will pay for new sound systems in his parish of Stradbally, Vicarstown and Timahoe and donations can still be given to their online fundraiser.

The tandem jumps took place in glorious blue skies in Clonbullogue air field in Offaly with the Irish Parachute Club, on Sunday, October 6.

The skydive was weather dependent, but the sun duly came out for the religious fundraiser. See more photos here. 

Fr Vard told the Leinster Express / Laois Live how it went.

“The clouds parted. We said there is a God and he was shining on Stradbally.

“It was a great buzz. We all got there on a a bus courtesy of Martley's.

“Everyone was a bit nervous, but then our families started arriving in support and we watched the first planes take off.

“In the plane we were all sitting on the ground lined up next to the door. When the door opened and the cold came in, you could hear the sharp intake of breath,” said Fr Vard, who had done a previous skydive as a teenager.

Each person jumped in turn, strapped to an expert skydiver.

“You sit on the edge and look down, your legs dangling. Then you're just falling. It's just amazing, it's such a rush, that view down as you are free falling,” the parish priest said.

Everyone had a safe landing and their fundraiser has also reached incredible heights.

“I had hoped for €6,000 or €7,000. We said we'd do a lot with that for the sound systems in the churches, like new microphones.

“Online now it's around €9,500 but overall with donations it's around €20,000. We can do so much work with that. I will be looking into a loop system for people with hearing aids,” Fr Vard said.

Former Laois Rose Anne Marie Bowe was among the skydivers. A first timer with a fear of heights, had the support of her husband Damien and three sons on the day.

“It was brilliant, it was a really good day. We woke to grey skies and thought it wasn't going to go ahead.

“We were all psyched up. I'm terrified of heights so I wasn't really sure I'd do it. By the time I hit the ground I wanted to go back up and do it again,” she said.

“You could see for miles. It was really calm and sunny. I would never have signed up but you can't really say no to the parish priest.

“The online fundraiser was at around €5k when we were heading over but came to nearly €9k after with that last big push.

“We all did our own bit of fundraising across the three towns. We had done a bake sale in Timahoe after Mass and raised over €1,000,” she said.

Fr Vard has a warm thanks to everyone who jumped, donated and supported the adventure.

“People have been so generous and so supporti ve. They even came and made tea and coffee and had scones and muffins while we were waiting.

“Thanks to everyone for being so courageous, and raising money themselves. To all who donated whether it was large or small, it's very beneficial and much appreciated,” Fr Vard said.

See Reach for the Skies on www.gofundme.com to give a donation. Photos courtesy of Ross Molloy, Dean Maher and Anne Marie Bowe.