Most of us enjoy a leisurely cycle however, AG’s Steven McKenna and 30 other cyclists took things to the next level to raise funds for two worthy charities on 13th and 14th August.

An Unforgettable Experience

Steven and his Gaelic Football Club, Clogher GAC climbed one of the highest peaks in Ireland, Croagh Patrick which is a 764 Metre hike and they followed this with a 138-mile cycle to their local Football Club in Clogher, County Tyrone. Stephen, a Financial Controller at AG talks about the unforgettable experience:

“The climb up and down Croagh Patrick on the afternoon of the 13th was tough and in true Irish style, we had a mixture of rain and sun along the way.  The effort required on Saturday was evident in the fact that even the ‘party animals’ in the group were tucked up in bed by 11.30pm on Saturday night.”

Not content with the climb up one of Ireland’s tallest mountains, the crew embarked on the next stage of their adventure, a 138-mile cycle ride home from Westport, County Mayo: “Proceedings started early on the Sunday with the groups on the go from 5.30am. However, I am not sure there were many in a deep sleep up to that point as the hostel bunk bed accommodation wasn’t exactly 5-star. There was great banter and teamwork and this was one of the abiding memories for those who completed the cycle.”

Injuries and Drama

You would expect that an event of this scale would conjure up numerous injuries, but Steven was happy to report that this was not the case:

“I am happy to report that a sticking plaster was the biggest first aid requirement over the weekend! Indeed our biggest drama was the fact that one of our support vehicles (with the food and climbing gear) managed to get lost in Westport and was unable to locate the bottom of Croagh Patrick. Once fed the group was once again content.” 

Video Provided by Clogher GAC

An Emotional Return

All the cyclists completed the journey together and Steven talked about the welcome that they received when they arrived back to Clogher ” There was a great sense of achievement as the culmination of 6 months training had paid off. Indeed the level of commitment from the group was evident right from the start with a number of Sunday morning 7am cycles by the group in training for the event.”

” The main purpose of the cycle was to raise funds for our Club, with the most imminent project kitting out a dedicated indoor facility for the youth. Linked to this are two very worthy charity causes in Shine – Spina Bifida and Clic Sargent who will also benefit from the sponsorship. I also would like to take this opportunity to thank Acheson & Glover for the sponsorship of our ‘Cycle for Clogher’ event from Westport to Clogher.”   

Well done to Steven and Clogher GAC on such a fantastic achievement!