Irish mother-of-two tragically dies during Climb with Charlie event in Co Tipperary

Cora O'Grady, an Irish mother-of-two, tragically died while taking part in a charity climb on the Galtee Mountains in Co Tipperary on Saturday. 

O'Grady, 51, died after becoming ill while climbing in the Galtee Mountains as part of the Climb With Charlie charity event, which saw thousands of people take part in hundreds of climbs all over Ireland to raise money for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and suicide prevention charity Pieta House. 

O'Grady was near the summit of the 918-meter high Galtymore with her two children Luke, 11, and Lily, 8, when she fell ill.

The Irish Community Air Ambulance attended the scene, while paramedics made attempts to revive her, but the 51-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene at around 2 pm. 

A notice on RIP.ie says that O'Grady will be reposed at at the Chapel of Rest in Mitchelstown, Co Cork on Wednesday, April 6, and that a funeral will be held at the Church of Mary Conceived Without Sin in Mitchelstown on Friday, April 8. O'Grady's family has requested no flowers, but donations can be offered in lieu to The Mount Rescue Team.

Charlie Bird, the retired RTÉ broadcaster who organized the charity event, paid tribute to O'Grady in a post on Twitter. 

"I want to offer my condolences this morning to the family and friends of Cora O Grady from Mitchelstown in County Cork," Bird wrote on Twitter. 

"Cora who was climbing in the Galty mountains took ill and passed away. Her family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers." 

Bird, who announced last year that he had been diagnosed with motor neuron disease, helped raise more than €2 million for Pieta House and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association through Saturday's charity event. 

Bird became emotional when he reached the summit of Croagh Patrick in County Mayo on Monday, sharing a poignant moment with singer Daniel O'Donnell and RTÉ Late Late Show presenter Ryan Tubridy.