Co Down charity champ Brian ‘recovering’ and going above and beyond for worthy causes
At 80 years young, Co Down publican Brian McCusker is a charity champion going above and beyond for worthy causes.
This year he has been raising funds for a cancer charity - all while battling the disease himself.
The owner of the rural Gall Bog Bar in Ballela, just a few miles outside Banbridge, had his esophagus removed earlier this month.
But the plucky pub owner emerged from from an eight-hour operation to ask how the latest fundraiser was going!
Battling Brian is now recovering well with his daughter Carol among those helping him along the road to wellness..
Carol told the Banbridge Chronicle: "My dad owns the Gall Bog Bar and for the last nine years we have been running a tractor run on the last Saturday in September.
"Every year we choose a different charity. The number of tractors vary every year. This year we had approximately 63.
"Tractor runs were very popular a few years ago, there doesn’t seem to be as many now but we still keep going as we raise on average £2,500 every year.
"The final total this year is £2,700.
"We have donated to diabetes, Chest Heart and Stroke, dementia, Macmillan and local charities like The Pringle Club in Dromore who provide a great club for over 18s with learning difficulties.
"We try to choose a charity which has affected our patrons.
"This May my dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and received chemotherapy in the City Hospital.
"On Thursday, October 1, he had his esophagus removed and is doing brilliant.
"We are calling him Superman as he is 80 and had pneumonia two weeks before his surgery. He is as strong as an ox."
Brian told us: “This year, because I had first-hand experience of how caring and supportive the staff were in the City Hospital when I was going through my chemo, I decided to donate the funds from the tractor run to Friends of Cancer.
"I went through an eight-hour operation to remove my esophagus and thankfully the surgeon was able to remove all the tumour. I am doing well."
Brian is also a familiar face around Banbridge Town Football Club being a long-standing supporter of the team.
Among his other charity efforts he opens the doors of the Gall Bog for the annual ‘Slog to the Bog’ sponsored walk in aid of Cancer Fund for Children, organised by a group of Banbroidge Town supporters. This year’s walk is taking place on Saturday November 7.