On the weekend of 9th September 2011 , twelve men from just outside Newry climbed 13,967 feet in four different countries to raise funds for Cardiac Risk in the Young, Ireland (CRY). Friends and family of the late Kevin Fegan from Camlough, climbed the 4 highest peaks in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales in just under 45 hours. They covered the following itinerary from 6.00 am on Friday 9th September, completing the descent of Snowdon on Sunday 11th September at 3.00 am:
Slieve Donard at 2,789 ft in the Mourne Mountains is the highest peak in Northern Ireland and Ulster.
Ben Nevis at 4,409 ft, is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to Fort William.
Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England. Its height is 3,209ft and it is located in the Lake in Cumbria.
Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of 3,560 above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outsideScotland.
The friends of Kevin were led by Kevin’s twin brother, Ruairi, and the group also included brother Martin, brother-in-law Tony McQuaid and Kevin’s cousin, Conor Fegan. They were joined at Ben Nevis by Kevin’s Glasgow based cousin Neil Heatherwick, and his father, Alistair, as well as other family friends in Scotland. Mary (Fegan) Heatherwick and daughters provided welcome respite at their Glasgow home from the gruelling ordeal when the group called in at 4.00am on Saturday for a solid Irish Fry, showers and packed lunches for all, as they set off for Scafell and Snowdon.
Kevin’s father Tommy was joined by family friend, John P. Collins to provide driving and support for the demanding 1,200 miles round trip.
Ruairi Fegan, Kevin’s twin brother and organiser of the trip commented, “It was a long tough journey but we all felt it was worth it to commemorate Kevin and also to raise funds for the charity we turned to after his death. We are well on our way to reaching our target of £10,000 in sponsorship. This money will go directly to CRY Ireland, to provide much needed funds to help the charity with their screening and support work. On average, 12 young people die every week in the UK, and 2 per week in Ireland, of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS). I thought about this on our challenge and realised the irony in the fact that 2 young people would have died from SADS during the time it took us to climb all four peaks.”
All proceeds of the 4 peaks challenge will go directly to CRY, an Irish charity set up in 2002 to prevent Cardiac Risk in the Young. CRY aims to raise awareness of sudden cardiac death, provide counselling and support to families affected and to fundraise to give ongoing support to the CRYP Centre in Tallaght Hospital which offers cardiac screening and evaluation for families who have lost a young person or for a young person who may be experiencing symptoms. The service is free to patients.
Those wishing to help Kevin’s friends make the £10,000.00 target can visit www.cry.ie and select the 4 Peaks Challenge in the drop down menu on the “Donate Now” button.
Photo caption;
The group at the foot of Ben Nevis; L to R;
Back Row: Ewan Rabey, Des McKendrick, Neil Heatherwick, Frank Richardson, Fearghal Lewis, Martin Fegan, Daniel Morgan, Conor Fegan, Shaun Doran, Ryan Sheppard, Niall Maley, Paddy Henry, Ruairi Fegan
Front Row: Alistair Heatherwick, Tony McQuade, Jason Lennon