“We are all farmers going for a cycle,” said vice-president of Munster Macra na Feirme (Macra), Elaine Houlihan, who is the driving force behind the organisation’s upcoming charity fundraiser.
True, they are farmers – no denying that – but this is not just a cycle.
Agriland recently caught up Elaine, and Tipperary dairy farmer, Sean Kelly, both of whom will be embarking on a lung-busting, leg-burning, 670km cycle from Mizen to Malin.
They will join 20 other members of Munster Macra on May 16, as they undertake a mammoth five-day cycle in aid of three important charities across rural Ireland.
Embrace Farm, Make the Moove, and the Irish Cancer Society are the worthy beneficiaries of the Munster Macra Mizen to Malin Challenge 2022.
Up for the challenge
In conversation recently with Elaine, who has been involved in fundraising in various capacities down through the years, she explained how this event came about.
When she was elected to the vice-president role a year ago, it was her intention to run a challenge each year of the three-year tenure
Raising money for charity was an aim, of course, but so too was getting people up, out, active and social – especially because of the grasp that Covid-19 had had on everyone.
“It was going to be a challenge on its own coming out of Covid, and I think it was important to get people back out socialising,” she said.
Munster Macra Mizen to Malin Challenge 2022
Fundraising and support details
– Donate on the GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/c812bf70;
– Do a charity event of your own to raise funds, and donate;
– Join the cycle along the way – check Munster Macra social media from May 16 for route updates.
So, last year Elaine organised ’11 Peaks in 11 Weeks’ and in aid of Irish Community Air Ambulance.
“We raised €7,000 and we managed to get around 200 members out to climb the 11 peaks in Munster – these represent the 11 Macras in Munster.”
That event seemed to light a fire under people who were keen for Elaine to get her thinking cap on again for this year.
“I wasn’t expecting people to be so hungry for another challenge in 2022 and I was getting messages from loads of people, so I had to think of something.”
A cycle from Mizen to Malin was a bucket-list goal for Elaine, who is no stranger to taking on various challenges, so she decided to put it out there and see what interest she received.
People – her Macra colleagues – she found out, were not shy about taking on such challenges either!
Charity choice
The three charities chosen as beneficiaries of this year’s fundraiser were selected by Elaine and two of her friends, she explained.
For Elaine, cancer has, sadly, knocked on her family’s door a few times, so the Irish Cancer Society was an obvious charity for her to choose.
Embrace Farm has directly helped one of her friend’s family, and mental-health charity, Make the Moove, does hugely beneficial work within the farming community, in particular.
While the aim of the fundraiser is to raise vital funds for all three charities, the awareness and publicity that will come with it, are as important, she said.
Swapping the GAA shorts for the padded shorts
Sean Kelly, a dairy farmer from just outside Nenagh, is one of the brave bikers who will participate in the cycle.
Although the Nenagh Macra member hasn’t been on a bike for about 15 years, when he heard Elaine’s proposal, he was determined to do it, and has been training hard for the last few months.
“It is for three amazing charities,” he told Agriland.
“The Irish Cancer Society has helped so many in society; Embrace Farm does serious work; and Make the Moove is all about mental health and, unfortunately, everyone has some connection to that as well, whether it is personally, or losing someone close to them.
“And, just to do it would be some accomplishment,” he said.
Full Rotation Fitness has been working with all the cyclists, designing “pretty rigorous” fitness plans, according to Sean.
And, thanks to a fellow cyclist, they have been learning about the right foods to eat and when to eat them so that they can fuel their training and the cycle itself.
It has been a steep learning curve, but an enjoyable one for Sean:
“I got a rude awakening when I started the cycling. I would be fit enough and would do a lot of gym work, but this is a different ball game.
“When I started, I was wearing GAA shorts, and I learned the hard way [that was the wrong thing to wear],” he laughed.
But swapping the GAA shorts for the padded variety has made all the difference and Sean has gone from strength to strength, and is looking forward to May 16.
Support along the way
While 22 cyclists, as well as a support crew, will form the core group for this fundraiser, members of the public are invited to join in along the way at any stage, Elaine said.
“We would be so happy to see people join in along the way. Seeing a new face along the way will really drive us on,” said Elaine.
As with life, the organising of this event has encountered a few hiccups along the way – the recent cancellation of all the accommodation being one pretty significant one.
But the hospitality sector pulled it out of the bag when alternative accommodation was sought, for which Elaine is hugely grateful for.
And she paid thanks to all the support streams that have come through for them – too many to mention.
“The support has been overwhelming. We have 17 or 18 companies on our jersey. We didn’t expect it, it is amazing. It is like all the things that you would dream about has come true.”
Carrying your loved one
One special feature of the cycle is the plan to deck the support van with magnets that will display the names of people who the cyclists would like to carry along the journey with them. Members of the public can purchase a magnet and add a name to the van too. Please contact Elaine directly via her Facebook page as magnets are limited – Elaine Munster VP Facebook.
Explaining where the idea for this came from, Elaine, who is a physiotherapist, said:
“One of my patients said to me one day, can you carry me from Mizen to Malin? And it got me thinking. How else could you carry someone on the journey? And I thought, the van, we could cover the van with magnets.”
“Each magnet will have the name of someone special. They don’t have to be names of people who have passed away, although they can be, but they can be [the names of] anyone that we want to have with us.
“There are 22 of us cycling, but why can’t we bring another 100 with us on the van?”
Macra Mizen to Malin – the route
The route and the progress will be posted on Munster Macra’s social media each day, and on Elaine’s Facebook page too – Elaine Munster VP Facebook.