Laura Sheehan's two most recent clubs, Exeter Chiefs and Railway Union, are coming together for a unique show of support for their much-loved friend and team-mate.
The former Munster and Ireland winger was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year from which she developed an autoimmune condition affecting both her sight and her mobility.
She is undergoing an intensive rehabilitation programme at present to help with her recovery, alongside her cancer treatment, at St. Vincent's University Hospital.
Exeter Chiefs, whom she played for between 2021 and 2023, and her current club Railway Union will be united across the water over the next two days as they both take on a 24-hour walking challenge.
Current and former players and staff from Exeter will take part in their walk alongside Exmouth Beach between noon tomorrow (Friday) and noon on Saturday.
The challenge will be mirrored at the same time by Laura's Railway Union team-mates in Sandymount, as both groups rally around the Cork woman and raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Ireland, St. Vincent's Healthcare Foundation, and Breast Cancer Now.
if you would like to support Railway's 24-hour walk, you can donate here, while you can contribute to Exeter's fundraising efforts here for the PWR's official charity, Breast Cancer Now.
The Chiefs chose the location for their walk as it is one of Laura's major goals to one day walk the shoreline of Exmouth Beach again.
The Exeter squad includes Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Dorothy Wall, and Nancy McGillivray, who all featured for Ireland during the recent Guinness Women's Six Nations, former Ireland captain Edel McMahon, who missed the entire season due to a second knee operation, and young winger/centre Eva Sterritt.
With a nod to their close bond with their team-mate, the final hour of the walk will be taken on by the players alone as they begin the 11am slot to celebrate Laura's jersey number.
She played four times for Railway Union during the first half of the 2025/26 Energia All-Ireland League season, scoring tries against Blackrock College and Cooke.