It was the experience of a lifetime... quite a unique challenge

It was the experience of a lifetime... quite a unique challenge

1 July 2015

STEPHEN O’Hare has finally hung up his walking boots after a 550-mile long walk north.

The Downpatrick man spent five weeks walking the length of Ireland in a unique challenge to show his support for the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team.

The mammoth hike began at Dursey Island in Cork and ended at Malin Head in County Donegal.

Although he is a keen walker and blogger through hikersblog.co uk, the scale of the journey was unprecedented for Stephen.

“I was anticipating 650 kilometres and it was nearly 900 kilometres, so 550 miles,” he said. “It took 37 days in all but it ran pretty smoothly as I have been planning this for many months.

“I was fortunate to get accommodation for a few nights but it was mostly camping. I did have to knock on a door once when it was getting late and camp in their garden.”

Despite clocking up around 15 miles a day, there were no blisters and the 38 year-old is pleased to have raised £2,000 so far for the rescue team.

Stephen knows both volunteers in Mourne Mountain Rescue and friends who have benefited from their service.

“One was an experienced walker who went into a hole and snapped his ankle,” he said. “Walkers in the mountains are so dependant on the volunteers within the service whenever they get into difficulty.”

As well as the many children undertaking Duke of Edinburgh awards, he says more people are discovering the Mournes every year.

“These are all volunteers running this service,” Stephen stressed. “They get no government funding.”

Stephen travelled up to the border with Cavan, walked through Fermanagh to Donegal and then to Malin Head, often through remote hilly territory.

“I could be walking seven, eight hours and only see one or two people,” he said. “There were a lot of particularly scenic areas down around Cork and the Beara Peninsula.

“It was the experience of a lifetime. A pretty unique challenge.”

Anyone who would like to contribute to Stephen’s fundraiser can do so via his Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/Stephen-O-Hare1/.