Uncharted with Ray Goggins: Father-son duo Keith and Jay Duffy pull through challenging expedition
Ray Goggins, Jay Duffy and Keith Duffy in the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda. Picture: RTE.
The final episode of season two of saw father and son, Kieth and Jay Duffy, take on one of Africa’s highest and least climbed peaks.
The Irish singer and his actor son joined former special forces soldier Ray Goggins on the adventure of a lifetime on the peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda.
But in the Rwenzori, also known as the Mountains of the Moon, lies one of the continent’s toughest expeditions and is not for the faint-hearted – a long and gruelling ascent of seven days through knee-deep bog and alpine rock to the glacier peak ahead of them.
Keith, who was just 20 when Jay was born, described his almost 30-year-old as his “best friend” and acknowledged how lucky he felt to be embarking on this adventure with his son.
Before facing the trails of sinking bog, treacherous mountain ladders, and dense rainforest, Keith said: “I don’t know what lies ahead, so once I don’t die and I get home to my family, all is good.”
After being picked up by Goggins in a small town in western Uganda, the father-son duo headed deep into one of the most unforgiving mountain ranges on the continent.
Day one saw the trio take on the first hike of their adventure, with Keith raising their spirits with a rendition of
Reaching their first camp of the week, they pitched their tent, following instructions as they went, with Goggins describing the Duffys as “two crows looking into a Tayto bag”.
On the second morning, Keith was seen using knee supports, explaining that he has no meniscus or cartilage left in either of his knees, which left Goggins concerned as to how far he would be able to make it through the expedition.
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Facing another near-vertical climb, the altitude started to take its toll, with Keith explaining that he felt as though he couldn’t get enough air in with each breath.
“I don’t want to let anybody down, I don’t want to slow anybody down, I don’t want to be the weak link in the chain,” Keith explained as he came under pressure with the pain in his knees.
The next climb up the side of a waterfall meant a slip could be fatal, but all three made it to camp after eight hours of trekking – exhausted and hungry.
By the end of day two, Keith knew he could be in trouble with his knees, but decided to drive on.
“It was a tough climb today. It made me realise I’m not getting any younger,” Keith said over dinner, which they had to fetch, kill and prepare themselves.
“From a very young age, I’ve always been very driven. I don’t come from money. I always wanted to succeed. Getting the opportunity that I got very young with Boyzone was amazing and the success we got quite quickly was unbelievable. To go on and sell over 14 million albums after where we started… music lovers didn’t like Boyzone. We weren’t liked. Taking the lackey and the put-downs from everyone around us, and yet we were successful.”
He spoke about his need to provide for his family, the acting jobs he took and how he built his profile to continue making money after the band.
“I always made sure we had fantastic holidays so that the kids wouldn't remember me not being there, to tuck them in at night or read them a bedside story, that they wouldn't remember that I wasn’t there for breakfast every morning,” he said.
He also opened up the charity he developed, The Keith Duffy Foundation, which stemmed from the fear of finding out his daughter had autism and realising that services were not accessible to them as a family.
Rain, mud and swamp were ahead of the trio the next day, with a tough 15km route through the notorious Rwenzori bog in worsening weather conditions taking its toll.
The higher they climbed, the worse Keith’s knees became and the more the altitude sickness was affecting Jay, but all three pushed on and made it to their next overnight stop after close to 10 hours of walking.
The next morning, Goggins and Jay shared a moment of reflection on Jay’s close relationship with his dad, his successful acting career and role in and how he deals with online trolls.
Pushed beyond their comfort zone, day four was the day the Duffys recognised that the climb through the Rwenzori Mountains was even tougher than expected, taking on the rocky trail to base camp for the summit, standing at 5,109 metres.
At 4,500 metres, severe altitude sickness became a real danger, and the next day the trio were supported by local mountaineers for the final push to the summit, who warned that any slight mistake would lead to “a terrible fall”.
During their brief from the mountaineers, Goggins said he was watching the Duffys' reactions, noticing Keith’s concern for Jay.
“If I were only to worry about myself, that’s fine. I’m okay with that. But I have to worry about my son too and I can’t help that. He’s a grown-ass man and he’s a strong dude, but he’s still my son, he’s still my baby,” Keith said to camera.
After a sleepless few hours, the team set off in the middle of the night in near-perfect conditions – a crisp, clear, windless night.
The final push was the real test, with Jay becoming anxious and experiencing mild altitude sickness and exhaustion and Keith admitting that it was astronomically more scary and difficult than he imagined.
Keith, who wanted to break down and cry, said he felt as though he had the responsibility to show no pain in front of his son.
Reaching the lower glacier, visibility became poor and the temperature dropped below zero, covering the rocks in a thick sheet of ice.
The final push to the summit became extremely technical and required every ounce of resilience and grit they could muster. Goggins, who has spent years working in some of the toughest environments, grew increasingly concerned about the dangerous conditions.
Recognising that someone could seriously hurt themselves, he made the final call that the summit was not attainable in the conditions and as he did, snowfall swept the mountain range – something that was unprecedented for that time of year in the mountain range.
Jay, disappointed that they had to pull the plug on completing the challenge, said it became apparent how dangerous the situation was when Goggins said to forget the summit as it was turning into a rescue mission.
Keith explained on camera just how difficult the descent was on his body, experiencing a pain he had never previously felt in his knees.
Becoming emotional, he said: “I got a feeling that I shouldn’t have taken this on if I wasn’t fit enough and stable enough to get my son home safe. I’ve always protected him and for the first time in my life, I felt I wasn't in control and that brings on unbelievable emotions.”
Finally reaching safety, the trio reminisced on a tough but “magical” week, with Goggins admitting that he doesn’t know many other people who would have got through the challenge as the Duffys did.
“The lads’ tenacity, their connection as father and son and their ability just to endure, that’s what I loved about the week,” Goggins said.
