Charity cyclists set out for Dublin

David Hill, an aide at the Scottish Parliament, died two years ago from a hitherto undiagnosed heart condition. He was only 30.

He had been playing for the Scottish Parliament rugby team against their Irish counterparts when he collapsed.

This weekend, the David Hill Memorial Quaich will be contested again when the Irish Dail and Seanad take on the Scottish Parliament at Donnybrook in Dublin.

And the match ball is already on its way, being delivered the 320 miles (plus ferry trip) from Edinburgh to Dublin by the Cycle4David team.

The team, led by David’s father Rodger Hill and his wife Lesley, set out from Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday.

They were joined initially by Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone and by Scottish Rugby’s Past President, Ian Rankin, and were set on their way by Scottish Rugby’s ambassador, Chris Paterson.

Pictured (left to right): Rodger and Lesley Hill, Alison Johnstone and Ian Rankin.

Their route took them via the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood through the Borders and today, tomorrow and Wednesday, they are visiting secondary schools in Dumfries and Galloway, en route to the ferry port at Cairnryan.

Rodger said: “Every week in the UK, around 12 young people (that’s folk aged 35 and under) die suddenly from a heart condition. Some 80% of these deaths will occur with no prior symptoms – which is why CRY, Cardiac Risk in the Young, is so committed to the importance of specialist cardiac screening.”

The David Hill Memorial Fund had already raised more than £40,000, which has allowed David’s family to organise 400 free cardiac screenings.

For their fund-raising cycle, they set a target of £9,000, which will provide a single use defibrillator in each of the 15 secondary schools in Dumfries and Galloway and by day three of their cycle, they have already smashed that total.

Last year, in addition to donating towards CRY, the David Hill Memorial Fund, donated £2,500 towards the Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation and chair Ian Rankin accepted that cheque before getting on his bike for the first leg of the cycle from Murrayfield to Traquair House in Innerleithen.

Scottish Rugby President, Colin Rigby, will be on hand to meet Rodger and Lesley Hill at Donnybrook this Friday and he praised the Cycle4 David team for their “inspiring courage.”

You can support Cycle4 David via their Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Cycle4David2024