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Joe Barr: Man Of The Year nominee At 64 years of age, ultra-cyclist Joe Barr from Newtoncunningham, is showing no signs of slowing down, after just being crowned Ultra-Cycling World Cup Champion, 2023, despite shattering his pelvis in eight places just 10 weeks before his final event. “I chose not to believe that this was a season- or career-ending injury,” he says. “I crashed in the US and was bombarded with the need for surgery but I knew intuitively that this may not be the case. I trusted myself. “I was lucky in that, while my pelvis was broken in eight places, it was not displaced. Surgery wouldn’t have aligned it any better so time was to be my healer. I started to plan my final race of the season as soon as I could sit on a saddle." Becoming the Ultra Cycling World Champion is no easy feat. It is a season-long competition where ultra-cyclists compete over four events, two of which are timed and two of which are distance. The two timed events are twelve and 24 hours and the aim is to cycle as far as you possibly can during those time frames. Barr took up endurance cycling at the age of 49 when his 6-month-old baby, Ross, was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma. Thankfully Ross beat the odds and Joe has been cycling ever since to raise money for children’s cancer. Throughout his 15-year career Barr has won the Race Around Ireland twice, become the 500-mile World Champion, completed the Race Across America twice, published an autobiography, become a Guinness World Record holder for cycling the entire Wild Atlantic Way without stopping and is of course a current Ultra Cycling World Cup champion. Barr shows no signs of collecting his bus pass anytime soon, “one last milestone for me is to become the first 60+ cyclist to go through 500 miles in 24 hours, 2024 seems like a good year to do that,” he adds.
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Nikki Bradley: Most Inspiring Award nominee Nikki Bradley (37) inspired the whole country when she returned to running following a leg amputation to take part in the VHI Mini Marathon. Nikki, who is from Letterkenny was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer aged 16. She has since received two hip replacements and in 2022 underwent rotationplasty surgery, which saw her thigh removed and her knee, shin, and foot rotated and then reattached where her hip was. She has been using crutches since 2012 and now also wears a prosthetic, yet Nikki has never let that stop her from heading out on adventures and pushing herself to the max. She’s climbed glaciers in Iceland, abseiled off Fanad Lighthouse and finished the iconic and gruelling 24km Fan Dance in the Brecon Beacons in Wales. In 2023, she was approached by VHI to be an ambassador for their 10km Women’s Mini Marathon. "It was a great opportunity to restart my training after my amputation, so it was an easy yes,” says Nikki. She found the training enjoyable but says the atmosphere on race day was by far the biggest highlight. “The route passed St Vincent’s Hospital and my mum, sister and I took a moment to stop outside to reflect on the fact I was passing the hospital during this hugely positive event rather than going in for treatment,” she says. Her advice for others wanting to challenge themselves? “Don’t overthink it, just sign up. What’s the worst that could happen?”
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Paddy Conaghan: Most Inspiring Award nominee Paddy Conaghan (82) swam in every port and beach along Ireland’s coast this year, raising over €100,000 for charity. From the age of 17 to 80, Paddy, who is from Arranmore Island, didn’t swim at all. But in 2020, his friend set up a free counselling charity in Dungloe, called Gemma’s Legacy of Hope, and Paddy wanted to help raise some funds for them. He decided to do so by going for swims all around Donegal. He started going down to the local beach every day. “It didn’t take me long to get back into the swing of things,” says Paddy, “So instead of going around Donegal, I decided to do the whole of Ireland. He raised over €100,000 and last winter he chose to take on the whole endeavour, known as the Ducking and Driving Charity Challenge, again, raising a similar amount for a clutch of charities in each province. “I loved the training, travelling around the coast with the most breathtaking scenery, and meeting the most amazing people,” he says. Paddy was also blown away by people’s generosity. Many gave him food and hospitality, while others took time out of their day to show him around the beaches. When his van broke down, one couple even lent him theirs! “There was good in every day, and I would finish my day off with a wee whiskey or a pint in the local pub,” he says. His parting wisdom for us? “We only have one shot at life, so it is up to us to enjoy it and make the most of it.”
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Jennifer Doherty: Most Inspiring Award nominee Jennifer Doherty (37) inspired the country with her outstanding climbing achievements this year – becoming the first blind person to conquer Ireland’s seven biggest mountains. Jennifer, who is from Buncrana, has been blind since birth. She always loved nature and the outdoors but hadn’t done much hiking, when the mountaineer Jason Black, who is also from Donegal and features later in the list, got in touch to see if she fancied joining a trip to Everest Base Camp in Nepal in 2022. The trip was life-changing, says Jennifer, and it immediately left her wanting more. She plans to climb Kilimanjaro in the future and struck upon the idea of the seven Summits Challenge to keep her fitness levels up. “The hardest thing for me in terms of climbing while being blind is finding people to hike with at the level I want to or am capable of,” she says.” Sometimes people are nervous guiding me and when they are I can feel it straight away so I can’t properly relax. But Jason’s constant motivation and belief in me has encouraged me to do things I never would have thought of before." Jennifer loved the challenge and found she met lots of friendly and helpful people from all around Ireland. Of course, some sections were challenging, especially the final day in the Derryveagh mountains and the Seven Sisters. “I thought I might never make it to the end but giving up was never an option,” she says.