Cork cyclists fundraise for night nurses in gruelling five day expedition

Jimmy repairs a bicycle on a previous expedition with his travelling companions. Picture: Jimmy Nyhan

Friends and brothers are retracing the steps of Ireland’s ancient chiefs this weekend in an endurance cycle from Cork to Leitrim in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.

Cian O’Sullivan, Michael O’Donnell and brothers Jimmy and John Nyhan are embarking on the epic O’Sullivan Beara march this morning from Castletownbere, Co Cork to O’Rourke Castle in Co Leitrim-a grueling five day, 500km journey.

And what’s more, as far as Jimmy knows, no one else has ever attempted the historic march by bicycle before.

Jimmy with friends after a previous successful expedition cycle.

Relishing the challenge, not even the early morning starts are off-putting to the seasoned endurance cyclist, who is aiming to cover 100 km a day with his three companions.

The camaraderie of the trail is what Jimmy enjoys the most, who has plenty of experience behind him after competing in expedition races in Scotland and Denmark.

A 50-year-old father of two, the IT worker lives near Kinsale, Co Cork, and is supported by his wife who is also an outdoors enthusiast.

The fitness enthusiast had been looking forward to competing at the ITERA Expedition Race in Scotland this summer but unfortunately was left disappointed when organisers cancelled the competition due to the coronavirus.

Expedition racing involves long-distance multi-day cycling without the aid of GPS and navigating with maps and compasses. Cyclists also need to pack as light as possible with limited space for equipment and supplies.

New challenges

Rather than let all the training and preparation go to waste, Jimmy and his brother looked into the march as a new challenge, with John suggesting that the brothers raise money for a charity.

The brothers enjoyed the novelty of the exercise as well as from the outside looking in, an expedition race is much more interesting than a triathlon.

The trusty bicycle Jimmy is hoping will carry him to the finish line. Picture: Jimmy Nyhan. 

However, Jimmy did take some convincing from his brother to set out for the charity expedition.

“Lot of people do stuff for charity,” said Jimmy, “We do this for fun. We do it all the time.” 

John eventually convinced him of the merits as “from the outside looking in, its nuts and all” and that “a lot of people do triathlons and stuff like that but very few people do 24-hour overnight events”.

Inspired by the palliative care their mother received in 2013 from night nurses as she passed away from pancreatic cancer, the brothers set out to raise funds for the night nurse service of the Irish Cancer Society.

In a blog post announcing the adventure, Jimmy said: “Our fundraiser is to raise awareness for those who have experienced the heartache of loss of dear ones and the relentless support of the night nurses.

A subject too close to too many families where loss brings us all together in so many ways.

The legendary 1601 march undertaken by Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare, the last Gaelic ruler of the Beara Peninsula, after the defeat of Irish and Spanish forces to the English Crown at the Battle of Kinsale, takes in counties Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Offaly, Galway, Roscommon, Sligo and Leitrim.

Those interested in making a donation to the adventurer’s cause can do so online here