Walking 2,500kms along the Wild Atlantic Way for the Children’s Hospital.
Keep an eye out around Kinsale in mid-September for the arrival of Jack O’Donoghue who will have walked the entire Wild Atlantic Way to raise funds for The Children's Medical & Research Foundation (CMRF)!
Jack set off from Muff in Co. Donegal on May 29th 2017 to walk all 2,500km of the Wild Atlantic Way to raise funds for CMRF which provides vital funding for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital and the National Children’s Research Centre.
Jack left Kenmare this morning, August 25th, and he generally walks about 30km a day with a rare day off! He is expecting to finish up in Kinsale in the second week of September.
Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin treats 130,000 children each year. There are 200 beds in the hospital where many of the most seriously ill children in the country are cared for along with support services for their families. This is a very worthy cause to support and one which each of us can relate to either on a personal level or through the experiences of family or friends. The National Children’s Research Centre (NCRC) is the largest children’s research centre in Ireland. It is supported entirely by donations to the CMRF. Before embarking on his journey, Jack said:
“I’ve been retired 5 years now and enjoying relatively good health, so it’s not surprising that Brenda and the rest of our family would rather I took a nap on the couch every afternoon instead of gallivanting around the roads of Ireland. However, I'm not prepared to surrender to that just yet. No records will be set on this journey and I will be very pleased if I eventually arrive in Kinsale in one piece and maybe a few kg lighter.
I will be even happier if I can, with your help, reach the sponsorship target for this event”.
CMRF have created an Events Page where you can donate to this event:
https://www.cmrf.org/event/a-bit-of-a-walk
(Jack is covering all of his own costs, so all monies raised go directly to the charity).
“I'm clearly not out to set any records, just to go for “A Bit of a Walk”:
The pace will be slow at first but I hope fitness will return and the pace or daily distance covered, may increase over time… who knows?”
I love meeting people and having a chat so this trip is going to be wonderful on so many levels. My priority is to raise funds for Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin. After that, it's more personal. I want to get out there and meet people. I want to see the Wild Atlantic Way as it should be seen, off road, on foot and at an easy pace.
I hope to shed some weight, which will in turn improve my overall wellbeing.
I will update my journey on a daily basis, mobile & Wi-Fi signal permitting, on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/2500klms and once I get back home to Maynooth, I will update my blog from notes, photos and my Facebook entries.
When I first thought about walking the Wild Atlantic Way I imagined doing it quietly without any fuss. Then I thought, if I am going to punish this old body walking for at least three months, then I should perhaps try to raise some funds for a worthy cause and now here we are.
Why am I doing this?
Well, Brenda and I have five children (grown up) and seven grandchildren from 19 years down to 9 months. We consider ourselves most fortunate that they have never had to avail of the wonderful care provided at Crumlin Hospital, where many of the most seriously ill children and their families are cared for by a wonderful team of dedicated professionals. So, this is my way of giving thanks for our good fortune, whilst also providing support to families coping with a seriously ill child.
I understand most people are struggling to manage financially from day to day, week to week, month to month and asking them to part with a few euro is difficult.
It would be great to get a few sponsors making a large contribution but many people making small contributions works well too.
The secure link to the CMRF page for this event is: https://www.cmrf.org/event/a-bit-of-a-walk
You can follow my progress on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/2500klms/ “
So Kinsale, keep an eye out for Jack’s arrival and give him a very warm Kinsale welcome while hopefully adding to his tally of funds raised for CMRF, a charity with which many Kinsale families are familiar.
