I'm a Firefighter and Paramedic with Dublin Fire Brigade who has recently taken part in RTÉ2’s Ultimate Hell Week Series.  I am raising funds for BUMBLEance, a cause which means a lot to me.

I met the Heffernans (founders of The Saoirse Foundation and BUMBLEance) in 2009.  My daughter Nevaeh was quite ill and we had the privilege of sharing a room in Temple Street Children's Hospital with Saoirse Heffernan for one week. Saoirse and Nevaeh were the same age and played together more like they were in school than in hospital.  It was at this time that Saoirse was diagnosed with Batten Disease.  She sadly grew her angel wings in 2011.  After Saoirse was diagnosed, her little brother Liam was tested and it was confirmed that he too had the same condition. Little Liam passed away in 2014.  Both children were only 5 years old.

I've registered to compete in the Dún Laoghaire Half Ironman Race which consists of a 1.9km Swim in the Irish Sea, 90km cycle up into the mountains followed by a 21km Run (Half Marathon) back into Dún Laoghaire all to raise funds for this great charity.  Keep in mind I come from a combat sports background so I’ve minimal running experience, little to no cycling experience and I only started swimming four months ago!

I’m an average dude who loves the basics. I believe people have too many excuses and could do with having a bit more heart. So as there’s #NothingSexyAboutMyTraining I won’t be using any equipment I don’t already own. I’ve a second-hand, hand-me-down wetsuit from my brother-in-law that’s a few years old, I’ve a €800 road bike that I got in 2017 on a Cycle to Work Scheme and I’ve three or four pairs of running runners that I rotate during my training.

And that’s not even it - I’ve no triathlon experience and won’t try out any other races beforehand which will add to the difficulty as I’ve no experience in transitions or what the hell I’m doing to my body. And to top it off I aim to train my arse off and achieve a sub six-hour completion time which when taking everything into account is quite respectable.

So, what I need from you is support and your donations….

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY RECENT UPDATES FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE.......