'It has certainly been a journey': Longford twins honour mother with 30-day mountain climb for charity
Longford brothers Graham and Malcolm Reilly are climbing Knocknarea Mountain in Sligo for 30 consecutive days to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society
TWIN brothers Graham and Malcolm Reilly from Ballymahon are climbing Knocknarea Mountain in Sligo in honour of their late mother. They have raised over €5,000 to date for the Irish Cancer Society.
Graham and Malcom said of the challenge:
“For 30 consecutive days we’re climbing Knocknarea Mountain in Sligo to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society. We have just one week left. This morning’s climb was Day 23 — and, because apparently doing this for 23 mornings in a row wasn’t mad enough, we started the climb at around 3am.
“When we started on September 1st, our fundraising target was €1,000. We have raised more than €5,000, with 185 individual donations, and the support we’ve received from people across Longford, Sligo and beyond has honestly blown us away.”
The brothers lost their mother Aggie Reilly Ní Hannifin to cancer in 2012 after a short battle with the disease. September 1, the day they began the challenge would have been her birthday.
The brothers explained: “We’ve also lost other family members and a close friend to cancer, while at the same time seeing people we love fight it and come through the other side. Cancer has touched an enormous number of families.
“We wanted to do something that was bigger than simply making a donation ourselves so we picked a mountain, gave ourselves 30 days, and decided we would keep going regardless of the weather, the tiredness or how sore our legs got and it has certainly been a journey. We’ve climbed through rain, fog, exhaustion and some absolutely ridiculous conditions. People have joined us on the mountain, strangers have become supporters, and the whole thing has turned into something we never expected when we started.”
Graham and Malcolm concluded: “Our goal now is to finish the 30 days, raise as much as we possibly can, and hopefully, encourage even one more person to donate, share the fundraiser or simply talk about the importance of supporting people affected by cancer.
You can donate to the fundraiser here.