Kevin Lawlor's Volunteer Story

At the time his aunt based in Wexford had few transport options to treatment in Dublin, and Kevin would step in as often as possible to help fill the gap.

“She was about 10 miles outside the town, she wasn’t on a bus route and they weren’t that frequent anyway. It was a big ordeal for her to get up to Dublin for treatment, and I used to bring her when I had time on my hands,” says Kevin, who lives in Enniscorthy.

Kevin was well used to being on the road from a career working in life assurance, so after this somewhat accidental introduction to the world of Volunteer Driving it seemed a natural next step to him to link up with the Irish Cancer Society to offer his services for others.

Seven years on and Kevin is among the most active members of a truly unique and committed community of drivers having himself completed nearly 80 journeys transporting patients to and from treatment last year alone, many to destinations as far afield as Kilkenny, Waterford and Dublin.

“I enjoy doing it. I like driving for starters, and the people who you’re bringing are quite ill. While they’re going through all that stress and the side effects of chemo and cancer, I feel that we alleviate the pressure of transport so it’s one headache they don’t have to worry about,” Kevin says.

“You do get quite fond of people - you meet some really nice, genuine people and you hear great stories about amazing people and the lives they’ve led.

“It’s very worthwhile, it’s very satisfying. People are really thankful and grateful, it means so much to them that you’re taking pressure and worry off them, and that includes financial worries if you’re driving and parking. And people can feel that they’re putting family members under pressure as well to take them, so it takes that pressure off.”