Nothing to see here... only a giant yellow duck in Portlaoise

Portlaoise people are probably rubbing their eyes in disbelief today, at the sight of a giant yellow duck in the town.

It is all for a good cause, the annual Clongowes Wood College Duck Push is aiming to raise enough money to buy a machine for children with scoliosis, for Crumlin Children's Hospital.

Hugo O'Donnell is one of the 31 students taking a week out of their summer holidays for the massive charity event, pushing the duck from Limerick to Our Lady's Children's hospital in Crumlin, Dublin a total of 265km over a week.

"We are taking it in shifts, pushing it for a kilometer at a time, we are getting great support along the way," he said.

Last year the duck raised €70,000 for the hospital. This year they hope to raise enough for a 3D X-ray machine for children with scoliosis.

The students have collection buckets with them, and donations can also be made on mycharity.ie

The duck will be sticking around Portlaoise for a few hours today, currently resting on a roundabout on James Fintan Lalor Avenue, before getting pushed on to Tullamore tomorrow.