The Cycle to Croatia challenge is the undertaking of a lifetime by three childhood friends James, Brian and Daire from Donabate, Co Dublin as they get in the saddle for the first time ever and prepare to cycle 2000km bringing them from Donabate Co. Dublin to the North of Croatia for three amazing charities.
Each of the resilient participants chose a charity close to their hearts including Diabetes Ireland, Mental Health Ireland and LauraLynn, Irelands Children’s Hospice. The fundraiser target for the challenge is set at an amazing €60,000 to be split between the three charities.
The challenge will consist of fourteen straight days of cycling on average 150km per day through France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Having never cycled before the three have had to train hard this year to prepare and hope to bring the masses along the way with them through their social media channels @cycle2croatia. Each charity has a close connection with each of the lads.
Brian’s fiancé Rachel has been dealing with type 1 diabetes since she was 12 years of age. Brian commented “I am determined to spread awareness and support the people working tirelessly to help those with diabetes.”
Sheila Bourke said, “Diabetes Ireland is thrilled to team up with two remarkable organisations, Mental Health Ireland and LauraLynn, Ireland Children’s Hospice, for an exciting campaign. James, Brian, and Daire approached us in January 2023 with news of their incredible challenge and how each of the charities involved has had a significant impact on them. We are truly impressed by the energy and dedication these gentlemen have shown, as they have given up their free time and weekends to train for the tough challenge ahead while raising funds and awareness for the organisations involved. We wish them all the best and sincerely appreciate the support of everyone who has donated so far.”
James is a trained mental health nurse and practices mental health coaching and awareness whilst training clients as a personal trainer. James said, “We are all unfortunately too familiar with the issues that arise with mental health illness and strive to help spread awareness for mental health Ireland and the work that they do.”
Georgina Lawless, Fundraising, Engagement & Volunteer Manager for Mental Health Ireland said: “We are constantly impressed by James, Brian, and Daire and the commitment, energy and effort they’ve put behind this enormous cycle challenge from the start. We are proud to be one of the charities they have chosen to support and have complete confidence that they will do an incredible job as they set off on their ‘Cycle2Crotia’ mission this October. We appreciate every donation that will support our work for mental health and recovery in the community and allow us to provide training, educational bursaries, peer support, awareness campaigns and much more.”
Daire before the challenge had been informed that LauraLynn is Irelands only children’s hospice. Blown away by the work that they do, he is determined to support their work. Daire said, “LauraLynn are heavily reliant on fundraised income to continue their care and support for children with life-limiting conditions and their families all across Ireland. I hope the fundraising as part of this challenge will help support their growth to reach more children and families who need their care and support.”
Liz Quinn, Community Fundraiser at LauraLynn said, “It’s a huge undertaking from Daire, Brian and James and we are so honoured to be chosen as one of their charities on this memorable journey of theirs. They are so committed and have trained incredibly hard, giving up their free time and dedicating it to getting fit for this epic cycle. We are amazed by their efforts given they are not professional cyclists. We wish them a fun and safe journey across Europe in this once in a lifetime event which will truly have an incredible impact on the lives of the children and families that LauraLynn support across Ireland.’’
To donate please go to Fundraiser by Brian Foley Cycle2Croatia (gofundme.com)
Pictured: James, Brian and Daire to undertake challenge from Dublin to Croatia.
