The Rita Fenlon Remembrance Tractor Run drives hope and support for cancer patients at St Luke’s Hospital Kilkenny

A new compounding suite for cancer patients at St Luke’s Hospital was officially opened late last year, following a generous donation by the 2025 Rita Fenlon Remembrance Tractor Run.

Rita Fenlon’s family and tractor run organisers visited the hospital to mark the occasion as a plaque was unveiled to acknowledge the significant contribution to the hospital in October 2025. Speaking at the time, Donal Carroll, Chief Pharmacist, St Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny explained: “The generous contribution has facilitated the instillation of a clean production area and laminar air flow cabinet in the pharmacy department to ensure that St. Luke’s Hospital can compound its biologic chemotherapy products on site for our cancer patients.

“This allows the pharmacy department to produce its own chemotherapy in a more cost effective and efficient manner and reduces the risk of delays in treatment for the patients of Carlow / Kilkenny.”

Since its founding in 2020, the Rita Fenlon Remembrance Tractor Run has united communities across Carlow and Kilkenny in one powerful mission: to honour the memory of a remarkable young woman, Rita Fenlon, and to raise vital funds for cancer-based charities and services. Each year on October Bank Holiday Monday, hundreds of tractor drivers gather at Rita’s home in St. Mullins before setting off across the South East, creating a moving spectacle of solidarity, remembrance, and community spirit. What began as a heartfelt tribute has now grown into a major annual fundraising event.

Jimmy Doyle, PRO, the Rita Fenlon Tractor Run, outlined: “This run is about more than tractors on the road. It’s about honouring Rita, supporting families who are facing cancer, and showing what’s possible when a community comes together with kindness and purpose.”

To date, the Rita Fenlon Remembrance Run has proudly raised and donated almost €80,000 to a range of incredible causes, including the Oncology Ward in University Hospital Waterford, the Irish Cancer Society Night Nurse Service, Éist Cancer Support Centre, Solas Cancer Support Centre and the Little Blue Heroes Foundation.

Every euro raised goes directly to supporting those living with cancer and their families, ensuring that Rita’s memory shines on through kindness, care, and community action. The organisers are calling on supporters, tractor drivers, and families to join the next run, promising a day filled with community spirit, remembrance, and the shared goal of driving hope forward.

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