Joe's marathon round

Joe Lyons plan to play nine courses on his charity cycle. Former West of Ireland champion and Irish international Joe Lyons will be swapping the green jersey for a yellow one next week as he attempts a three-day cycle from Galway to Mullingar in aid of the Irish Heart Foundation.

As part of his 90-mile journey, Lyons will be calling into nine golf clubs and playing 18 holes along the way to raise vital funds for the national charity fighting heart disease and stroke.

Lyons on his bike for the Irish Heart Foundation. The unique challenge will also launch the golfer’s new campaign, Defibme.ie which aims to generate a national database of defibrillator locations.

Clubs and organisations across the country are being asked to register the location of their defibrillator at the campaign’s website Defibme.ie to facilitate the development of a smartphone applications which can help the public identify the nearest defibrillator in an emergency.

Lyons will play two holes each at Galway, Athenry, Loughrea, Athlone, Moate, Birr, Tullamore and Esker Hills before finishing up in Mullingar.

The public can support Joe’s Golf Cycle challenge and raise funds for the Irish Heart Foundation by logging on to www.defibme.ie and guessing how many shots it will take him to cross the country.

Winners of the competition will be announced on Thursday, June 27 at the Irish Open. For more information contact joe.lyons@golfrover.com or check www.defibme.ie/golfcycle/