Family-owned farm and crisp manufacturer, Keogh’s Crisps, has released 1 million limited-edition bags of crisps to help raise awareness of Cancer Fund for Children, the all-island charity that provides emotional, social and therapeutic support to children, young people and families impacted by cancer.
Tom Keogh is the founder of Keogh’s Farm and plans to partake in Rory’s Miles to Mayo: The Trilogy. Led by former Ireland and Ulster rugby captain Rory Best, participants will take on 378km over nine days (12-20 September) around the island of Ireland. They hope to raise vital funds to help the construction of the Cancer Fund for Children’s Daisy Lodge therapeutic short break centre.
This lodge will be the second of its kind on the island of Ireland (the first is located in Newcastle, Co Down) and is currently under construction in Cong, Co Mayo. Cong will be the challenge’s final destination.
“[My involvement] started in 2025,” Tom explains. “A friend approached me looking for funding to sponsor him and I said I’d love to get involved. We went through a journey with my own son when he was five years old. So last year, we completed the 26 Mountain Challenge; climbing the tallest peak in every county in Ireland over nine days.
“There were 22 of us and we raised €1.8m [to help construct the facility in Co Mayo]. This is the first facility of this kind being built in the Republic of Ireland. It’s on a beautiful site, right beside Ashford Castle on the lake. For 2026, we wanted to keep this going, so the idea this year is to do nine marathons in nine days – walked marathons, now, thanks be to God!”
The challenge begins in Co Derry and from there, participants will complete legs in Belfast, Dublin, Kildare, Carlow, Clare and Galway before finishing in Cong.
“It will be a tough undertaking, but we hope to beat the €1.8m raised last year. Please God, we might even get over €2m this time. I have visited the centre in Newcastle and I have seen the great work they do there. Places like these make such a difference to families impacted by cancer.”
Keogh’s released their limited-edition crisps to help raise awareness and provide an easy way to donate to the cause.
“The pack looks fantastic,” Tom says. “It’s our cheese and onion flavour, which is our biggest selling line, and it has a great daisy motif all around the pack. There’s a QR code on the back where you can learn more about the charity. If you would like to donate, there’s an option there, as well.”
The Dublin leg of the walk on 14 September will finish at Keogh’s family farm in Oldtown, north Co Dublin. This is a meaningful charity for Tom and his family. He says that being able to give back in this way has been a wonderful experience.
“Even to be able to take the time out of the business and do something like this, you know, it’s a credit to the team I have around me. I’m very lucky on so many levels.”
See rorysmiles2mayo.cancerfund forchildren.com
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