WHILE the rest of the country was preparing for the opening games of the Rugby World Cup and the All-Ireland football final, one group of 22 Irish people was on the road.
They weren’t heading for Croke Park or the Millennium Stadium but to Ben Nevis, Scotland’s highest mountain, to raise money for Concern Worldwide.
Dermot Magee, from Rathfarnham and now living in Stepaside, volunteers as a guide on Concern’s fundraising hikes in Ireland and the UK. He explains that Ben Nevis was only the first of the mountains the Concern team climbed.
“We climbed three mountains over the weekend,” he revealed. “The highest peak in each of Scotland, England and Wales. This was the first time Concern had brought a team over to do all three mountains in one trip and it was a great success.
“We were really lucky with the weather on Ben Nevis, which was a great way for everyone to start the adventure.
“At 1,344 metres, Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the UK and Ireland. Scafell Pike is the highest in England at 978 metres.
“At 1,085 metres, Snowdon is a lot lower than Ben Nevis, but still higher than any mountain in Ireland.
“After descending from Ben Nevis we all jumped back on the bus for a four-hour drive to Carlisle.
“Bus Éireann gave us the bus free of charge and the two bus drivers, Pat Doyle, who lives in Donard and John McIntyre from Mayo gave up their free time to drive for us.
“It’s really generous of Bus Éireann and the drivers. Over the last two years Bus Éireann has given Concern a free bus for 11 challenges and we have had a range of staff from the company, who give up their free days to drive for us.
“Scafell Pike was a shorter climb than Ben Nevis, but the team had to put up with a cold wind and overcast skies.”
After descending from Scafell Pike, the team boarded the bus again for the long drive to Caernarfon in Wales where the weather turned.
“But there was great camaraderie among us coming down off Snowdon,” he added.
Each person on the challange raised a minimum of €1,500.
In total €45,000 was raised with all the money going towards Concern’s emergency work in Nepal.