2007 Hill Walking Challenge

The 2007 Adventure – 4 Peaks Hill Walking Challenge Sponsored by The Percy French Hotel

At 6 am on the Saturday morning of the August Bank holiday a hardy group of 45 hikers boarded a luxurious coach and headed for base camp 1, the car park in Murrisk, Co. Mayo at the foot of Croagh Patrick. The group was under the command of Mr Sean Collins for the day and was chauffeured to all destinations by Mr Tom Corcoran. By the time some sleepy heads had got out of the bus, Morgan Beirne and John Rogers were half way up the reek. Shaggy set a record for the ascent, indeed some believed that he was actually ‘sleep climbing’ as he had never been up that early before in his life. All climbers (nearly all) reach the summit of the reek within 2 hours and group prayers were led in the chapel by Murph and being treasurer he tried to hold a basket collection at the top of Croagh Patrick but to no avail. After a successful descent lunch was served in The Tavern Bar in Murrisk. Before Fozzy had the desert finished Sean had everyone back on the bus and Corky guided us from Mayo to Knocknarae near Strandhill in Sligo.

At this stage the superior fitness of the ladies club began to show. Deirdre, Morgan, Ruth, Feena and the 2 Maria’s sprinted up to Queen Maeves tomb. The entire group joined them and enjoyed the spectacular views of Sligo Bay. Next stop was Sliabh an Iarainn just outside Drumshanbo in Co. Leitrim. Here the group made its way up to the old coal mines overlooking Lough Allan at the summit. Sliabh an Iarainn proved tricky as the heavens opened and everyone got drenched. Being persistent everyone completed the task and then headed on the homeward leg to Sliabh Bawn in Strokestown. The difficult ascent of Strokestowns Everest was made easier by Tom….he drove half way up the hill. On completion the now somewhat weary group returned to The Percy French hotel where a new lease of life was got and drinks and refreshments were served into the early hours.

The day itself was a great success. Good fun was had by all and for the most of the day the weather held up. The group raised over 47,000 euro for their efforts which was a fantastic success. Hard work by everyone over the summer months achieved this amount. All funds raised were used in the development of our new grounds at Lisroyne. Special thanks to everyone who took part in the event and to all who supported them. Thanks to Hanlys Spar  Supermarket and Conor Silke (C&C) for providing all refreshments on the day. Thanks to Sean Collins for his help and Corky for keeping us between the ditches. Also to Emmett and County Photos for their support. Thanks to our EMT team of Fozzy and Ian for their time.

Finally the event itself was generously sponsored by Mr Leo Cox of the Percy French Hotel, Strokestown. Their backing and support guaranteed that the day was a great success.

The 2008 climb takes place on Sat, August 2^nd….so if you are up for a challenge, want a fun day out and think you can raise the sponsorship money that will help develop top class sporting facilities in our parish why not sign up for this years challenge.

For more information click here.