1.5 million steps in memory of Grandad Patsy.

We will each be walking 10,000 steps for 150 days in memory of our beloved Grandad Patsy (Patrick) Keeshan, a proud Irishman and wonderful patriarch. The 1.5 million steps that we will each take over the next 150 days will raise vital funds for the London Irish Centre - a very important charity to our family which we’ve personally benefited from, in the hope that others can benefit from their services too, in loving memory of our grandad. These funds will support the London Irish Centre’s mission to empower and enrich people's lives through Irish community and culture.

Patsy (Patrick) Keeshan was a proud Irishman who came to London from Roscrea, County Tipperary aged 21 to make this fine city his home – although he told his mum he was only going to London to watch the Olympics! He was a kind, intelligent and comical man with a love for all sports but especially loved cheering on his treasured football team, Tottenham Hotspurs. Grandad Patsy was a familiar sight around Kentish Town, with his traditional Irish tweed flat cap and warm Irish timbre. He would often strike up conversation with complete strangers and had the most incredible ability to make friends with all types of people wherever he went. At family gatherings Grandad Patsy could either be found right at the heart of the festivities entertaining us all or watching on from the sidelines with a big smile on his face and a thumbs up, always holding a family member’s hand. When asked the secret of his eternal youth he swore by a walk, a newspaper and a “small” Guinness a day.

As much as Grandad Patsy would probably quite like the idea of us raising funds in his memory through a Guinness-inspired bar crawl around London Town, many of our fondest memories of Grandad Patsy are of the simple but powerful sight of him setting off for one of his walks or joining him for a stroll while he regaled us with a funny story, an impromptu history lesson, or some insightful words of wisdom. It is in his honour that we will each be walking 10,000 steps per day, for 150 days, in the lead up to what would’ve been his 94th birthday. The 1.5 million steps that we each will take will raise vital funds for the London Irish Centre and support its mission to empower and enrich people's lives through Irish community and culture.

This couldn’t come at a more critical time. The London Irish Centre has been providing community services and Irish culture to London since 1954 and the COVID-19 crisis has had a huge impact on its capacity to provide this support, especially to London’s large and vibrant older Irish community, who are especially vulnerable.

For every £10 raised, a life can be changed, for the better.

Thank you in advance for supporting this important cause in memory of our wonderful Grandad Patsy, who we all miss tremendously.

Here’s to you Grandad Patsy XxX

UPDATE: We met our step goal to each walk 1.5 million steps by Grandad’s Heavenly Birthday on 13th July 2021. We walked a total of 4,714,367 steps in his memory. Thank you to all who supported us and this wonderful cause x

Kristina 1,511,127, Nicole 1,655,093 & Vikki-Marie 1,548,147