UCC students set free on jailbreak flight

How far would you get from Cork with zero cash and a never say die attitude?

That’s the mission being set for 27 daring teams from University College Cork as they prepare to beg, borrow and blag their way to a mystery location in order to raise funds for St. Vincent de Paul and Amnesty International on February 20th.

Now in its third year, the event is the largest student-run charity event in Ireland—raising in excess of €115,000 for the aforementioned causes during its already brief history.

Armed with some Irish charm, the entrants, who must raise at least €400 to enter, are forbidden to use their own cash, while the one flight they take cannot last over two hours.

To spice up proceedings, each team, which consists of two students, are only told of a general location to travel towards, with more specific co-ordinates leaked as the race progresses.

With 2015’s Lake Bled finish-line revealed just hours before the winning team crossed the mark, this year’s mystery location could be anywhere from Scandinavia to Slovakia—depending on what rumour you’re willing to believe.

Confident that they’ll be first to nail down the eventual location, UCC’s The A-Team, have thrown their hats into the ring.

“We were about to enter it last year, but missed the deadline by a whisker,” says Andrew O’Sullivan, a second-year Accounting student.

Despite his financial background, Andrew and his teammate Adam Mulcahy have yet to get their sums right for the impending race.

“We’ve yet to get a sponsor on board,” he laughs. “We’ve been in contact with every business in Cork—yesterday, I spoke on 96FM appealing to the public for some kind donations, so hopefully that will do the trick.”

As for a plan, the Cork duo are pinning hopes on flexibility rather than preparation. “Over-planning is the worst thing you could do for something like this. We’re aiming to be in Dublin for sunrise and we’ll take it from there.”

Confident that last year’s tally of €60,000 will be bettered, UCC Jailbreak Amnesty Representative Aishling Heffernan notes that “every penny raised goes to the respective charities”; while those keen to keep an eye on proceedings can visit jailbreakhq.org

Want to donate? Text JAILBREAK to 50300 and donate €4. For further information, visit facebook.com/UCCJailbreak or follow @jailbreakHQ on Twitter.