Iris's Longford stop on charity walk for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland

Walking from Mizen Head to Malin Head is a daunting journey. For the last two weeks Iris Murphy, a native of Manorhamilton who now lives in Riverstown, Sligo, has waned her way on the 600 kilometres trip.

The unassisted solo walk from Mizen Head to Malin Head will raise funds for the North West Regional Branch of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.

Iris set off on July 24, with her tent and backpack, and finished up last Sunday, August 6. The endeavour is very special to Iris. Her daughter, Shania Murphy, and niece, Evie Pierse, are among around 1,400 children and adults in Ireland living with the condition.

In the course of her journey Iris has intermittently stayed in her tent or with strangers who opened their door to the fundraiser. Her Longford stop saw her accommodated by Tara and Emmet Lyons in Moneylagan, just outside Longford town.
“I want to thank Tara and Emmet and their family for hosting,” she told the Leader, “Tara sent me on my way to Ballinamore with the best Western omelette I have ever had.”

After packing up in the morning she headed in the direction of Drumlish: “It wasn't long before the beautiful Jillian McNulty joined me. I felt I was in the company of a celebrity. Listening to her story only reinforced my resilience to keep going.

“Telling me about her recent health experiences and even the fact that she could only walk for a short while really put my few blisters into perspective. We stopped at Drumlish where I had an opportunity to meet the woman behind the woman, Jillian's mother, Fiona. She has been through a lot and is an amazing cheerleader for Jillian.”

The timing of the walk for the North West Regional Branch of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland was decided by a family event: “My niece, Evie, is being christened in Killarney.
“We would have had to go to that, so I decided to tie in the fundraiser. It's a couple of hours more to walk,” Iris joked about the mammoth undertaking.

Iris said the support she got has been remarkable: “It's a solo walk, but all along the journey people have joined me. I do an online post about the journey every day. It's about putting one foot in front of the other, it's not like anything exciting happens.”
Iris walked between 42 and 45 kilometres each day, the equivalent of a marathon a day for most of her journey: “I split the last day so I have two 'light days'. It meant people could travel up on Sunday to be there when I finish.”

Iris says raising awareness about Cystic Fibrosis is part of the reason for the walk: “Medical treatment means that people with CF are living longer. There have been huge advances in the treatment of CF in the last few years, I just want to make sure that continues.”
If you would like to support Iris you can log on to www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/ MizentoMalinsolowalk