Waterford man plans to climb every mountain in Ireland for charity
56-year-old Aidan Ennis from Tramore is planning to climb all 275 mountains in Ireland
A Waterford man has set an ambitious challenge to climb every mountain in Ireland between now and the end of June in a tough and gruelling charity endeavour.
56-year-old Aidan Ennis from Tramore is planning to climb all 275 mountains in Ireland (with a height of 600 metres and above) in one continuous hike to raise funds for Brighter Communities Worldwide, a small Irish charity that works in partnership with local communities in Kenya.
The charity has launched ‘The BIG Walk’ which will see walkers complete 10,000 KM, the distance from Ireland to Kenya, from now until October in a bid to highlight the work it does in healthcare, sanitation and economic empowerment.
Aidan will complete the mountain challenge in 48 days and the ambitious route starts in Galway in the Maumturks before travelling on to Croagh Patrick, the Blue Stack Mountains, the Mournes, the Wicklow Mountains and the Comeraghs to name just a few, before finishing on Brandon Head in Kerry on the 20th June.
Not only will he climb all the mountains in the country over 600 metres, but he also plans to run from one mountain range to the next, adding to the gruelling nature of the challenge.
He says “Brighter Communities Worldwide is a hugely deserving charity, they work incredibly hard and their work over the past two decades has been tangible, all the while improving the lives of the people with whom they work in partnership with in Kenya. They have chosen 10,000km - as the target to reach between now and the end of October and so the kilometres I will run up by climbing every mountain in Ireland, a total of some 2332 KM is going to help quite a lot”.
“As walking is the main mode of travel for so many people in Kericho County in Kenya who have to travel vast distances to access clean water, the charity hopes that this will resonate with people in Ireland to get behind the challenge. Participants will choose where they want to walk, count the km’s they cover and hopefully together they will reach 10,000km”.
Aidan is no stranger to tough charity challenges, last year he walked the entire coastline of Wales including all 15 of the Welsh 3000ft mountains enroute, for Brighter Communities Worldwide.
He credits running on the beaches around Tramore as helping him prepare for this challenge.
“Yes, I run all the time on the sand at Tramore, it has toughened me up no end so I’m relishing this challenge ahead”.
“I will camp out most nights, with some nights in towns and cities in B&B or guest houses where I will pick up supplies for the next few days of the hike. My wife, Emily and our 11-year-old son Alex will meet up with me with our VW Camper on some weekends also”.
“The people of Ireland are so generous and giving and I am really hoping they get behind me on this challenge, meet me along the route and donate a little to help a lot”.