Roscommon’s Fergal Guihen – a general nurse in Sligo General Hospital’s Emergency Department – sets off in March on a 23,000km ‘Rossie to Aussie’ charity cycle in aid of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation and aims to reach Australia in February 2025.
Fergal (25) from Arigna, Co. Roscommon, who previously worked at St James’ Hospital and Trinity College Dublin and is now based at Sligo General Hospital ED, aims to average 100km a day taking in 25 countries and three continents along the way. He hopes to finish the trip at the iconic Sydney Opera House within 11 months.
“This challenge is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done. The longest cycling trip I’ve done was about two weeks long, so this is certainly going to be very different but I’m very much looking forward to it. I’ll be doing most of the trip by myself, but friends will join me across Europe.”
Fergal said he is funding the trip himself and will live a very minimalistic life. “I’ll be bringing my tent and hot stove with me! I had a thought that I may as well incorporate a fundraising element into it, so I’ve chosen a charity local to me – the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation – as I want to give back to my local community. The Foundation provides vital palliative care services to the communities of Mayo and Roscommon and my great granny benefitted from those services in Roscommon.”
Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation has been providing palliative care services to people with life limiting illnesses and their families in both counties since 1993. Since then the palliative care teams have assisted in the care of over 20,000 patients and their families.
In 2019 the Mayo Hospice in Castlebar was completed at a cost of €9m while the Roscommon Hospice was finished below the €6.3m budget. Both hospices were developed and paid for by a combined fundraised income of €15.5m and are a result of the support received from communities in Mayo and Roscommon. For further information visit www.hospice.ie/
