Greencastle cancer survivor Seamus pedals his way to €4,500 charity boost

A Greencastle man has thanked everyone who supported his recent charity cycles, which raised almost €4,500 for Cancer Care West and St Luke’s Hospital in Dublin.

Seamus Carey recently marked five years cancer-free and decided to celebrate the milestone by giving back to the organisations which supported him through his diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

Mechanic Seamus (66) was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2020 and underwent a seven-hour operation at St James’s Hospital in Dublin.

He subsequently received chemotherapy and 38 sessions of radiotherapy at St Luke’s Hospital, where he spent three months during the height of the Covid pandemic.

As an avid cyclist, Seamus decided to undertake two charity cycles in August, raising funds equally for Cancer Care West Support Centre Donegal and The Friends of St Luke’s Dublin.

The first challenge saw Seamus and a number of friends cycle the Inishowen 100. On August 1, he was joined by Sammy Lyle, Gerry ‘the Yank’, Michael Porter, Declan McNicholl and Tom O’Donnell for the Moville to Buncrana section.

Phelim McCallion provided support by driving in front of, and at times behind, the cyclists to alert motorists.

Seamus and two others then cycled from Mamore Gap to Urris and Clonmany before continuing to Carndonagh, completing 85km on the opening day.

On August 2, Seamus and Tom were joined by Henry O’Donnell for a 59km route from Carndonagh to Malin Head, Glengad, Culdaff Beach and back to Carndonagh.

On August 4, Seamus and Tom completed a further 42km from Greencastle around Shroove and to Kinnego and Carrowmenagh before returning to Greencastle.

The second challenge followed on August 7, when Seamus and Tom cycled 98km along the Grand Canal Greenway from Shannon Harbour to St Luke’s Hospital. They were joined by Willie Havlin, who drove the campervan supporting them.

Seamus was grateful to his friend Robbie Parks from Bray for sending the campervan up for the cycle, while Gerard Callaghan from Coolcross kindly drove it up and back.

On August 8, Seamus was delighted to have his eldest son John there to see him cross the finish line. Olena was also described by Seamus as a ‘big help’. The final day involved a further 42km cycle.

Through sponsorship cards, donations and his iDonate page, Seamus raised close to €4,500, with half going to each charity.

He thanked everyone who donated online, personally or through sponsorship cards in local businesses, as well as those who helped make the cycles possible.

He also thanked Rosaleen at Moville Resource Centre for printing his sponsor sheets; his family, including son Daniel; Patricia at Cancer Care West and Geraldine from Friends of St Luke’s for the t-shirts; Joseph and Michelle Sharky for ‘doing the hi-viz vests’; and Sean Sheerin for the posters.

Seamus remains particularly grateful to St Luke’s for the care he received and has also credited the Cancer Care West Support Group in Letterkenny with supporting his ongoing recovery and mental wellbeing.

When he arrived at St Luke’s, Seamus was delighted to be met by staff, including two nurses who had cared for him during his treatment, Noeleen McDaid, originally from Culdaff, and Jeanette. He was also welcomed by Geraldine Stafford and George Birch.

Seamus returned to both St Luke’s Hospital and Cancer Care West last week to present the charities with their cheques.

Alongside raising much-needed funds, Seamus hopes his achievement will highlight that cancer does not have to define a person.

He wants others to know that people can go through cancer treatment and go on to do many amazing things.