Former Ireland back-row Denis Leamy putting on charity event for Tipperary hurler Eddie Connolly
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Former Ireland back-row Denis Leamy putting on charity event for Tipperary hurler Eddie Connolly

FORMER Ireland international rugby player Denis Leamy has organised a ‘Night at the Dogs’ at Thurles Greyhound Stadium in order to raise money for his cancer-stricken cousin, Tipperary hurler Eddie Connolly.

The event takes place on Friday, September 18, and all proceeds will go towards the Eddie Connolly Trust Fund and Leamy, who made 57 appearances for Ireland between 2004 and 2011, is going all out to put on an entertaining evening.

“It’s a fantastic cause and it will be a great night,” said the former Munster back-row. “We’ll have a lot of sports stars there from the various codes and our hope is that we can get a massive turnout and have a good night. It’s a great way of showing our support.

“There will be no shortage of effort and hard work being put into this, you can be sure of that.”

Former dual-player Connolly, 29, captained Tipperary to the All-Ireland intermediate hurling title in 2012, but was diagnosed with brain cancer just over a year later and has recently underwent treatment in Spain.

And Leamy is expecting a good local turnout for his popular cousin, with the funds generated set to go towards Connolly’s medical bills.

“There’s a great tightness there and they row in behind each other,” he said of Connolly’s Loughmore-Castleiney community, “which is evident in the support for Eddie from his immediate family, the parish, people in GAA and sports circles.

“Eddie’s so well-known in Ireland, he’s worked in Dublin and been based in Dublin for a long time now. He has friends in all four corners of the country.”