SPORTS MINISTER Michael Ring is certainly doing his bit for others. The Ringer is among the performers on the Bridge Over Troubled Waterextravaganza, and he has also signed up for next Wednesday night's "Run for Mark in the Dark" in aid of the Mark Pollock Trust.

At the age of 22, Mark Pollock lost his sight. But he went on to achieve some incredible feats: he raced to the South Pole over 43 days, he completed six marathons in one week and was awarded two Commonwealth Games medals for rowing. In July of last year, Mark had a life-threatening fall from a second-storey window and is now paralysed from the waist down.

He visited Leinster House on Wednesday and met Mr Ring, along with Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar and Deputy Eoghan Murphy (FG) who will also be taking part in the run, which is taking place simultaneously in Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Galway.

He had lunch in the private dining room, where Senator David Norris presented him with a cheque for the money raised by catering staff member, the big-hearted Julie Lyons, who ran the Dublin marathon, her first, for Mark.

As for the Ringer, he just keeps giving.

He was invited to attend last night’s Ireland/Estonia match in Tallinn by his Estonian counterpart during a recent meeting of European sports ministers.

But Mr Ring declined the invitation, saying the State couldn’t afford to be sending him off to football matches in these difficult times. However, he’ll be extending the best of Irish hospitality to Rein Lang when he travels to the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday for the return leg.