Cool gran skydives for charity

PLUCKY Finglas pensioner Margaret Casey was the pride of her family when she fearlessly parachuted out of a plane from 10,000 feet to raise money for a local charity.

With the rest of her family anxiously looking on, brave Margaret (66) leaped from the small, propeller driven Cesna plane over Galway Airport earlier this month for an experience few her age would dare to try.

“I’m shocked when I look at myself in the pictures but it was sensational,

? she said.

“I went up absolutely no bother. I absolutely felt nothing, and I’m somebody who if I saw a wasp in my kitchen I would make my own exit through the wall!

“When the door of the plane opened, I was first out. Before I knew it, I was gone. It was amazing.

?

Despite the immense thrill of leaping from a plane, a video of the event shows grandmother-of-three Margaret displaying all the tension of somebody taking a pleasant Sunday afternoon drive.

“I’m smiling because my grandchildren had warned me that they’d have to show the video in the school so I promised I wouldn’t let myself down even if it kills me, and I didn’t.

?

But despite her supercool performance; Margaret admitted that she’d think twice before doing it again.

“If somebody was to say they’d go up and do it again immediately afterwards, I wouldn’t believe them,

? she said.

“But if was to raise money for a sick child or a charity I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

?

Margaret’s proud son Derek said the whole family were impressed with his mother’s achievement and attitude.

“She was concerningly calm about the whole thing,

? he laughed.

“I had showed her loads of videos of parachute jumps so she knew what she was getting into.

“When she went up you could feel the tension but as soon as the parachute opened everybody calmed down. It was really great.

?

Derek is no stranger to the experience himself, having parachuted over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia a few years ago, but he admits to not being as cool as his mum on his jump.

“But it was an incredible experience, so I knew what she was getting into,

? he said.

“I was actually a bit jealous when she was going up in the plane.

“We’re bursting with pride. She’s a really great role model.

?

Margaret, who ran her own hairdressing salon from her home in Finglas Place for 40 years, choose local charity Finglas Addiction Support Team (FAST) as the benefactor for money raised from her jump with Skydive Ireland.

So far almost

?¬1,200 has been donated from the jump. FAST is a community-based initiative that provides support to individuals and families affected by drugs in the area and Margaret hopes other locals will support the cause by donating online at mycharity.ie/event/margarets_charity_skydive.