WHILE thousands of people will be walking in St Patrick’s Day’s parades all over the country spare a thought for one Northside man who will be taking part in an event to raise funds for charity.
On March 16 and 17, Eugene O’Leary (73) will be undertaking the ‘St Patrick’s Plod’, a Buggy Push from the Hill of Slane to the Hill of Howth.
The Howth resident will arrive in Slane around noon on March 16 and will then head down the N2 towards Ashbourne.
“I hope to get a few miles past Ashbourne before camping for the night,” Eugene told Northside People.
“I will then head off towards Swords at around 8am the following morning and I hope to reach the Hill of Howth at around 3pm on March 17.
Eugene, affectionately known as the ‘Pedalling Pensioner’, is a well-known charity fundraiser and cycling and trekking adventurer. His exploits have featured in a lot of media, including Northside People, in recent years.
After the death of his 19-year-old daughter Helen in 2002, he took up long distance sponsored cycles in her memory, at home and abroad.
Eugene started doing cycles in 2004 to raise funds for Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, where Helen was a patient and has raised over €100,000 for the hospital.
In 2015, Eugene took part in a ‘Buggy Push Across Ireland’ challenge to raise money for Cherven Orphanage in Belarus.
He began walking with a child’s buggy at Slyne Head, Galway, on April 3 and after spending 207 gruelling miles on the road, arrived at Howth Head on April 11. Over €3,000 was raised from this event.
Eugene also did another Buggy Push from Whitehall, Dublin to Whitegate, County Cork and together with a concert held in Howth, he managed to raise another €2,000 towards the refurbishment of the showers, laundry and washrooms at the orphanage which had been damaged in a fire.
While Eugene is currently involved in Buggy Push challenges, cycling is still his passion.
In 2012, he became the first Irish person to complete a long distance cycle on the Arctic Circle, and in 2014, he cycled a complete circuit of Ireland. He has also cycled the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.
Eugene is currently fundraising for children in the Cherven Orphanage but also took on another project recently.
“Chernobyl Children’s Trust has provided special baby formula and medicines to ‘Slutsk Abandoned Babies’ Home’ in southern Belarus for the past three months,” he said.
“I enquired about the cost of this, thinking that it probably cost thousands, but hoping that I could raise something towards the cost each month.
“To my surprise, I was told that the monthly cost was the equivalent of €300.
“My aim now is to raise the necessary €300 each month for this home together with some much-needed funds to support the children in Cherven Orphanage.”
You can find Eugene’s donor page at https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/my-1000-kilometres-buggy-push Photos of some of his cycles can be viewed at www.crazyguyonabike.com/helpasickchild