Roll with it!
Three friends are near the end of a lengthy charity walk, covering the distance from Cavan to Cork while towing a wheelie bin along the way!
Starting on 19 August, Christopher Maguire, Thomas Lynch and Thomas Reilly who live together in Galway, made the long 355 kilometre journey on foot from Blacklion, Co Cavan all the way to Cork city bus station, and all going well, should reach Leeside today.
The friends are raising money for The Cavan Monaghan Palliative Care Fund and have already received over €4,600 for the charity. “Last year we did a canoe trip from Cavan to Galway and we raised money for a charity for cancer patients. We wanted to do something similar this year,” Thomas Lynch told the Cork Independent.
However, walking with a wheelie bin cross country is no ordinary endevaour. The idea came to them when a gas cylinder for the house that they shared had run out and they had to carry it back home. They decided to empty out the wheelie bin, place the gas cylinder inside it, and proceed to walk it back to their house. “Then, when we decided to do this walk, we said 'let’s bring a wheelie bin so we can put all our gear in it'!” he said.
“As it’s for charity, we wanted to stand out a bit. The bin is motorised too, there’s not an engine, but they are not normal wheelie bin wheels,” he added.
The trip has not been without its trials and tribulations, with the friends relying on camping and tents for the duration of their journey. Thomas says that they've been fortunate to encounter kind-hearted people along the way who have generously allowed them to set up camp on their grounds.
However, with the adverse weather conditions in August, the trek hasn’t been easy.
“We’ve definitely got soaked,” says Thomas.
“You wake up wet, then you are sweating all day, you get rained on again, and repeat the next day. But it’s all for Cavan Monaghan Pallative Care and that’s the important thing,” he added.
They have battled blisters and the bad weather, but now the end is in sight. The promise of a comfortable night's stay awaits them in Cork as they plan to rest at the Maldron hotel upon their arrival, with Thomas saying it will feel “great” to be in a bed again.