Charlie Bird: 'While I am walking I am still alive and it gives me hope'

Former RTÉ correspondent Charlie Bird, who has MND, is counting down the days to his Croagh Patrick charity climb on April 2. But protecting the environment is at the forefront of his mind too

Former RTE news correspondent Charlie Bird training for his upcoming charity climb in April. Picture: Maxwells

When Charlie Bird packs his bag for Croagh Patrick on April 2, he will have a rain jacket, warm clothes, water and snacks for his ascent.

He will also have four candles, and matches, which he will take out in St Patrick’s Oratory on the summit of 'the Reek'.

“The first candle lit will be for everyone who, like me, has a terminal illness, and the second one will be for everyone who is in what I call a dark place, with thoughts of self-harm and suicide,” Bird says.

“The third one will be to mark everyone coming out of the pandemic. And the last one will be for everyone who died in the pandemic,” he says.

And in his pocket will be “the lovely gift that Daniel O'Donnell gave me the night we were both on  The Late Late Show”.

The journalist and broadcaster says he is still “blown away” by the response to his decision to climb Mayo‘s quartzite peak - a decision he made after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) last year.

“Why did I pick Croagh Patrick? Well, in a way, it was a spur-of-the-moment answer,” he says, recalling how it came about that night on The Late Late Show.

“Ryan Tubridy asked me if I had a bucket list, and off the top of my head I said I wanted to climb Croagh Patrick.” 

And why wouldn’t he, for the “impeccable pyramid”, as writer Michael Viney once described it, has never lost its allure.

The sun’s roll up and down its slopes a couple of times a year “earned the Reek its druidic credentials”, Viney wrote in The Irish Times in 1999, describing how “on winter mornings, against the light, the seaward scarp above Murrisk is deep purple, scalloped with pale, grey-violet scree”, while on summer evenings, from Old Head, the Reek is rosy and Italian, like a Bay of Naples watercolour”.

But there was another reason for Bird’s decision.

“Just before the pandemic I formed a WhatsApp group called the West awake,” he says. “It was made up of my RTÉ colleagues, all of whom had a connection to the west of Ireland.”

Among the group were broadcaster Seán O’Rourke, former Northern editor Tommie Gorman, Michael Lally of TG4, former news editor Ray Burke and former agriculture correspondent Joe O’Brien.

Another key member was “my great friend and colleague, Jim Fahy”, Bird says, paying warm tribute to RTÉ’s former western editor who died earlier this year.

“When I was diagnosed with the terminal illness, MND, this group offered me such amazing support,” Bird says.

“I jokingly said to them ‘would they climb a mountain with me?’, and of course they all said ‘yes’,” he says.

“So that is how the idea came about,” he says.

Singer Daniel O’Donnell will all be there too. Vicky Phelan, who was recently honoured with the freedom of Limerick city and county for exposing the CervicalCheck scandal, hopes to be there for support.

Respect the environment 

Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo: the site of Climb With Charlie. Pic: Michael McLaughlin

Bird is fundraising for two charities close to his heart – Irish Motor Neurone Disease (IMNDA) and Pieta, Ireland’s national suicide prevention charity.

However, numbers with him on Croagh Patrick will be limited, due to the fragility of the well-worn pilgrimage route.

“We want everyone who is walking on April 2 to respect the environment,” Bird says.

He is heartened that many groups and individuals have already got that message, and have planned simultaneous trips to high places across the island.

A 12km looped walk around Mount Melleray Abbey in the Knockmealdown mountains in Co Waterford, Cnoc na Naomh on Donegal’s Arranmore island, and Knocknagantee near Sneem in Co Kerry are among the myriad alternative walks marked on the ClimbWithCharlie website map.

It doesn’t have to be a hill – it could be a park walk or forest trail, Bird suggests. He is appealing to anyone taking to open countryside to leave their dog or dogs at home.

“The date marks the start of the lambing season...so I will not be bringing my beloved Tiger up the mountain,” Bird says.

Tiger, a cockapoo, is very much part of the ClimbWithCharlie project, though, as he has been helping out with training.

“Before I was diagnosed with my terminal illness and during the early stages of the pandemic... I was walking as much as 24km (15 miles) a day,” Bird says. 

“Thankfully, at the moment, my motor neurone is not affecting my mobility. So I am still taking Tiger for long walks when I have time,” he says.

“Last September, before I was diagnosed, I climbed Lugnaquilla on my own, up and down in just over four hours,” he recalls.

“Believe it or not, on my way down I met a very elderly man aged about 89, I think, who was climbing “the Lug” with his daughter - they both put me to shame.” 

Essential tips

Former RTE news reporter Charlie Bird, his wife Claire as he gets into training for his upcoming charity climb in April.

Bird’s website has essential tips for preparation, and both Mayo Mountain Rescue and Mountaineering Ireland have also issued helpful advice.

Like every mountain, the Reek can offer extremes. I first met Mayo Mountain Rescue’s press officer Marie Lyons in a tent during a status yellow weather warning in late July 2015, when the pilgrimage had been called off.

Still, people turned up, and some were treated for hypothermia. Last year, Lyons recalls, some climbers had to seek help for heat exhaustion.

Irish mountain rescue teams don’t get involved in marshalling and organising third party events. However, Mayo Mountain Rescue team has organised a training event on the Reek for April 2.

Lyons’s advice is to check your fitness; wear good boots; bring a rucksack with water, food, and a good rain jacket; carry a fully charged mobile phone, and torch, and ensure you have warm clothes in case you have to sit on the mountain while awaiting medical help.

She also advises Reek climbers to look out for, and use, the steps being installed by Croagh Patrick Sustainable Access and Habitat Restoration Project to address path erosion.

These points are echoed by Mountaineering Ireland (MI), which has put together some advice for ClimbWithCharlie participants, and for those organising parallel events.

It also has a very useful 'Happy Hiking' leaflet on its website, which advises that taking a progressive approach is the way to build up your fitness, stamina, experience, and confidence.

“Set realistic goals to start with and do not be afraid to turn around and go back,” MI advises.

Good preparation and equipment can mean “the difference between having an enjoyable or a miserable day out in the hills,” it says.

Bird says he hopes April 2 is a “national day of celebration”.

“I still walk every opportunity I get,” he says. "In a way, it sends a message to my brain - while I am walking I am still alive. And it gives me hope.

“So Croagh Patrick is all about hope for me... While I am still strong and alive I want to extend the hand of friendship to everyone.”

He says he is so looking forward to having his wife, Claire, his family and friends with him.

“And I want to look down at the amazing sight of Clew Bay - and have that sight etched in my mind for whatever time I have left.”