Brothers' lorry run supports `nobody's children' of Tirana

Two brothers from the midlands are on their way to Tirana, Albania, this week with two loads of humanitarian aid for the poor…

Two brothers from the midlands are on their way to Tirana, Albania, this week with two loads of humanitarian aid for the poor of that city which has been collected mostly in Galway but in the rest of Ireland as well.

A Longford town garda, John Mulligan, and his brother, Anthony, left Longford last Sunday to bring the much-needed goods to Albania.

For Garda Mulligan, this is his third trip, and for his brother the second humanitarian run on behalf of the Charity, Nobody's Children.

The charity was set up by an Australian woman, Myra Kelly, who has Longford connections and recently visited the town to tell local people what she was trying to achieve there.

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In Longford she visited her friends, the Mulligan brothers, and the man who has supplied the trucks they are driving, Pat Corrigan from Drumlish.

While here she expressed her appreciation of the voluntary effort they have been quietly putting in to bring some joy into the lives of some of eastern Europe's most disadvantaged children.

Nobody's Children was established by Myra Kelly in Tirana with the help of the Sisters of Charity, the late Mother Teresa's order, to try and bring some hope to children who have no chance in life.

The brothers, who originally come from Mohill, Co Leitrim, decided to undertake the journey despite the gloomy news and the threat of war earlier this week.

John, married with three children, is no stranger to that part of Europe. His first trip with relief aid was to Bosnia in 1995 and he returned there again in 1996. Last year he drove to Albania with relief aid.

His brother, John, who works with Pat Corrigan's transport company, is a very experienced driver on continental routes but undertook his first humanitarian trip last year to Tirana with his brother.

The brothers, with their two trucks, expect to reach Tirana by the end of this week when the goods they are carrying will immediately be distributed to the children in need in the city.

It will take them a further week to make it back to the Irish midlands via Italy, France and across Britain, a round trip of just over 4,000 miles.