Last weekend, four friends completed one of the most endurance-sapping cycling challenges in Ireland, in memory of a good friend, Michael O’Connell. Michael, who was a passionate supporter of the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA), died in February 2023 and, before he passed, he had spoken to one of the four about the possibility of doing something significant to support the charity that was so close to his heart – the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA).
This is where the idea for a 32-county cycle in 5 days was born – now the small matter of getting the job done fell to four friends who were not new to long-range cycling – that said, this was a test none of the four had ever contemplated before.
The quartet of Kieran Mills, John O’Connell, John Murphy, Jimmy Kelly (aided by support drivers Connie Kelly and Billy Bolster) started their challenge by cycling from Scarriff in County Clare to the first-day finish line in Sligo – 210km on the bike, knocking off a quarter of the challenge in one day (eight down, just 24 to go).
Day 2 saw the lads head into Northern Ireland where they rattled off another eight counties, finishing the day in Armagh – with 185km on the road completed.
Undeterred by the excruciating test, the four friends hit day 3 hard, coming down the east coast, with another five counties completed – 160km added to the ever-burgeoning tally.
A quick break, and day 4 involved picking up six counties on the east coast, Dublin to Kilkenny, with a couple of inland counties tagged along the way – a tad over 180km. 27 completed and just five to go.
As if the east coast section of the adventure wasn’t enough on its own, the geography of the area offered the quartet the option of cycling up Mount Leinster, a test none of the men could turn down.
The final day of the challenge saw the cyclists head from just outside Kilkenny city to cross the River Suir (which accounted for Co. Waterford) before heading to Kilbehenny (Co. Limerick), leaving just two to go. However, the task was far from completed.
The lads pushed for home on Sunday afternoon and took care of Co. Cork (via Mallow) before completing the epic five-day challenge when they crossed into County Kerry via Rathmore.
Large crowds waited for the four men and their back-up driver as they crossed into the Kingdom, a fitting end to what was the trip of a lifetime for the four fundraising heroes.
Before completing the challenge into Rathmore on Sunday, the lads called to Burtons in Kanturk where the late Michael O’Connell worked.
At the heart of the expedition was the wish to raise as much money as possible for Michael’s favourite charity – a truly worthwhile effort for a truly worthwhile cause. All donations to this worthy cause will be greatly appreciated – please visit iwa.enthuse.com/cf/32-county-cycle-challenge
Donations can also be made to the IWA Website ‘The 32 County Cycle Challenge’.