Arthur McMahon, Team Donegal’s founder, held an open evening to encourage & inspire ladies from right across Donegal to get off the couch & take part in training for next years 2018 Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Challenge 555k Cycle along Donegal’s Wild Atlantic Coastline, as part of an 8 person ladies only team for Team Donegal Oil.

A huge number of ladies came along to the open evening at the offices of Donegal Oil Company looking for inspiration, encouragement and to express their interest in taking part in Donegal’s biggest cycle challenge. And they got it!

Arthur McMahon, explained to the ladies how the process worked after they register their expression of interest, what was involved & how Team Donegal Oil would help them complete this endurance challenge.

Arthur McMahon commented, “Everyone who wants to be included need to commit, they need to be self motivated & work as part of not only an 8 person team but as part of an overall larger support crew & each individual will have a chance to contribute their own strengths to ensure the teams success. It’s not just about completing the challenge though, but enjoying the journey and having fun, making new friends & participating. I was overwhelmed to see the response to our Facebook Post calling out for ladies to register their expression of interest for this challenge. Although we have to narrow it down to an 8 person ladies team, we will also need a ladies crew & back up support. I wish everyone of you ladies the very best of luck”. says Arthur.

Shaun Stewart, organiser of the Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Cycle Challenge, gave a simple outline of the 555k Cycle Challenge route & how to fit in certain parts of the challenge route into an overall training programme. Shaun said “We did have some all ladies teams participate last year, and we are delighted to have Team Donegal Oil, encourage a novice team of ladies to take on the challenge next year. We also welcome anyone who perhaps won’t make the team to consider entering a team themselves. Going by the amount of interest expressed & the ladies present, we could easily make up 10 teams. I would like to wish Team Donegal Oil & all the ladies the very best of luck.”

Grania McGinty, from Downings a busy working mum, took part earlier this year in the “Couch to 555k” Challenge, as part of an 8 person with Team Donegal Oi. She gave a blow to blow and honest description of the route they took, the challenges & organising they did to ensure that everyone was motivated, fed, looked after & how they as a team gelled which led to them successfully completing the challenge, all of whom had never done anything like this before. Grania is a really true Inspiration & the ladies related to her excitement and enthusiasm. Grania gave the ladies a really great piece of advice, “ You all must go into this with the mindset not only to #haveago but to enjoy it and have fun.” Grania finished by saying,  “Myself & my other team members, have become great friends since day 1 & still take part in challenges together & we are so grateful & thankful to Arthur McMahon from Team Donegal Oil for giving us this amazing opportunity and encouraging us to get off the couch. We will all be friends for many many years to come.”

The inspirational evening finished with Donegal’s inspirational speaker and motivator, Nikki Bradley from the Motivation Factory. Nikki Bradley is a real inspiration herself & you could listen to her all day, a real motivator & inspiration. This young woman from Donegal has taken on & completed many extreme challenges herself, many thought impossible over the years, she was delighted to be able to provide inspiration & encouragement to the ladies in the room. Nikki is an adaptive adventurer, motivational and mental health speaker, SideStix ambassador and the founder of ‘Fighting Fit For Ewing’s’.

Nikki’s life has not been what you would call, ‘normal’. Diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer (Ewing’s Sarcoma) at sixteen and the receiver of a second total right hip replacement at the age of twenty six, Nikki has been on a truly unique journey. So unique in fact, she has been informed by her consultant that she is currently one of less than ten people worldwide to have lived through what she has. In 2013 Nikki set up a fitness based awareness campaign called Fighting Fit For Ewing’s where she regularly participates in physical challenges to highlight the importance of exercise for rehabilitation.

Nikki’s story was warmly felt throughout the room & as she said herself to the guests, “If I can do what I’ve done, anyone can set their mind to take part in any challenge that will improve not only their fitness but their mental health wellness and by taking part in a team of ladies novice cyclists, like this one, will be a journey that before you would not have had a chance to participate in and one that you certainly will never forget. The fact that a company like Donegal Oil have had the foresight to set up a Social Corporate Responsibility part of their business to encourage people to participate in activities to improve body & mind, at no cost to the participants, is truly amazing & I wish everyone on this journey every success. I am delighted to see so many women getting active & this is the first step in your own individual journeys, the fact that you are here tonight says it all, good luck ladies.”

“Team Donegal Oil was set up to encourage and motivate people who are sitting on the couch, thinking of doing something active and who would love the opportunity of a support team to help them to just simply #haveago at anything that will increase their fitness levels and mindfulness & just get them off the couch. We all know that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind and we all need support and encouragement sometimes. This is Team Donegal Oil’s 3rd year & we are continually trying to encouraging more people to join us and we are delighted by the response from right across the county from an amazing bunch of ladies. I would like to wish these determined, motivated ladies well with their application & look forward to training which will start soon. These ladies will #haveago & we will do this together.”  concluded Arthur McMahon.

Photo Caption:
Arthur McMahon, Team Donegal Oil, Nikki Bradley, The Motivation Factory and Rory Kennedy, Smart Renewables.

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A huge number of children from Donegal travel to Crumlin children’s Hospital and in 2016 alone 1438 Children from Donegal attended Crumlin Outpatients Dept. Children attend for a range of clinics such as Orthopaedic appointments. This year the Outpatients Dept, which caters for 80,000 children annually will be upgraded to provide better facilities for the children, staff and their families. Nazareth’s Baby Ward will also be refurbished to ensure that the rooms there are fit for purpose and can facilitate the new technology needed to treat seriously ill children along with improving the space for parents to stay overnight with their children. CMRF are also funding priority equipment needed for the hospital and for vital research which is being conducted at the NCRC into Paediatric Cancer, Immunology, Eczema & CF.

Shaun Stewart & Lonan O’Farrell recently took part in a challenge that involved climbing all of Ireland’s 26 Peaks over 32 counties and they beat the fastest known time by a record 27 hours. They did this to try & raise money for Crumlin and have raised a huge total of €6276 for their chosen charity Crumlin Children’s Hopsital, which was presented to Antionette Kelly from CMRF at the offices of Donegal Oil Company this week.

Shaun’s sister, brother in-law & niece, Katie, Ronan & Cara Murphy will be on a journey over the coming years with their little 2 year old daughter Cara, with many visits to Crumlin’s Childrens Hospital. Cara Murphy was born with a condition called Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD). This is a rare birth defect that affects the pelvis, particularly the hip bone, and the femur. The disorder may affect one side or both, with the hip being deformed and the leg shortened. At birth Cara’s right leg was approximately 1.5cm shorter than her left leg. As she continues to grow so does the discrepancy between her leg lengths. Currently her limb difference is 7cm and this will continue to increase. Cara wears a shoe that has a raise of 7 cm and she manages great with these. The good news is they hope that Cara will be able to have lengthening surgeries. It is uncertain yet as to how many surgeries Cara will need as each case of PFFD is individualised and there is no set plan of treatment that suits every patient. Lengthening surgery is a slow and painful process and the Limb Reconstruction Unit in Our Ladies Children’s Hospital, Crumlin have the expertise and skills necessary to carry out these procedures.

The challenge was sponsored by Donegal Oil Company and the crew teams took turns in driving, supporting Shaun & Lonan throughout the challenge. Crew teams were Arthur McMahon, Donegal Oil Company & Shaun Doherty, a friend of Shaun Stewarts. They were relieved half way through the challenge by the infamous Donegal Road Trekkers, Denis Ferry & Leslie O’Donnell.

The challenge it’s self was tough and Shaun & Lonan are extremely grateful to their team, families and the people who generously donated towards their charity. They would especially like to thank Arthur McMahon from Donegal Oil who sponsored the event & gave up his time to crew the challenge. Rory Kennedy, known in rallying circles for helping organising the navigational routes throughout Ireland. Shaun Doherty for crewing & providing support, Denis Ferry & Leslie O’Donnell who took care of them while crewing for the 2nd half of the challenge & getting them to Errigal Mountain in Co. Donegal safe. Paul Doherty, Paul Dohery Photography who climbed to the top of Errigal Mountain to capture what are just the most amazing images at the finish. John Dillon from Manor Motors who provided them with transport for the Challenge. Their own families & friends who supported them throughout, the media for all the fantastic coverage, Grace Ann McGarvey, for organising all of the Press, TV & Radio coverage & managing all the social media updates, before, during & after the challenge, Antionette Kelly from CMRF who was so helpful in providing materials & travelling to Donegal for the cheque presentation & to absolutely everyone who donated to the charity and met them along the way to support them & to everyone who were there at the finish to congratulate them.

Whats next on the agenda for this duo is yet unknown but they are never far from an adventure race, a mountain or an adventure cycle. They are always ready to #haveago.

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