Cork brothers to cycle 1,200km in France for cancer charity

Two brothers in their 50s are to undertake a gruelling 1,200km cycle in France to raise money for charity in memory of their mother who died from cancer.

Declan and Pat O'Hara, natives of Charleville, Co Cork are no strangers to competing in challenging cycle events, but their most daunting challenge to date is the oldest cycling event in the world.

They are preparing for the Paris-Brest-Paris challenge, first undertaken in 1891, which will be held in just over a fortnight's time and is expected to attract 6,500 participants.

It's believed the eventual winner will take approximately 72 hours to cross the finishing line.

"Almost to the date of this event 30 years ago our mother died of cancer. She was only 52. This disease doesn’t just rob you of the person, it robs you of life experiences in your life that you can never imagine," said Declan who is managing director of McElligott's in Tralee.

He said that for 30 years his family have always been involved in different fundraisers relating to cancer and for the French event they are raising funds for Breakthrough Cancer Research.

He pointed out that both himself and Pat had to qualify to take part in the event and this gruelling qualification process started some 20 months and 1000s of kilometres ago.

The cancer that killed our mum would now be diagnosed much earlier and the treatments with that early diagnosis would today save her life.

"It is because of Breakthrough Cancer Research that these advances are made and through funding these projects we can beat this devastating disease," Declan said.

The brothers have set up a fundraising site here.

Meanwhile, two young Irishmen will start an even bigger marathon next Sunday, departing on an epic cycle from Sydney to Dublin. Paddy Flynn and Daithi Harrison are to travel through three continents and in the process raise funds for Sydney's Children's Hospital Foundation and Crumlin Children's Hospital.

Paddy, who is from Waterford and Daithi, from Tipperary, will cycle through 28 countries. Details of their challenge can be found at here.