| Pedalling Pensioner coasts to charity cycle |
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| Wednesday, 13 August 2008 | |
 A NORTHSIDE pensioner has cycled a distance of almost 200 kilometres, as part of his mission to raise over e250,000 for Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. Eugene O’Leary (65), from Howth, nicknamed the ‘Pedalling Pensioner’, left the docks at Galway last Monday week (August 4) at 8.30am and arrived home at 8.45pm where a large crowd had gathered to cheer him on. The inspiration behind Eugene’s tireless charity work is his late daughter, Helen, who passed away six years ago aged just 19. He now uses his skills as a long distance cyclist to raise much-needed funds for the Medical and Research Foundation at the South Dublin hospital. Helen was a patient at the hospital until she was 18 and died one year after having her care transferred to an adult hospital. Eugene said the death of his daughter and the great treatment she received at the hospital was the main motivation in his charity work. “Helen spent so much time in Crumlin Children's Hospital as a young girl that it almost became a home from home for her,” he stated. "I'll always remember the reactions of the nurses when a child died in the hospital - it was almost as if it was one of their own." Eugene is now a proud granddad of nine, and one of his grandsons, Dylan (10), has recently spent time in Crumlin Hospital. "He was taken into Temple Street Hospital first and they found that he had a non-malignant tumour behind his eye,” explained Eugene. “They could only remove 80 per cent of it because of where it was and the remaining 20 per cent blew up. “He's had chemotherapy in Crumlin and has just received the all-clear.” Aside from the cycling, Eugene works with a drug awareness project. He retired from his job at Dublin Port several years ago and before that, he was a lighthouse keeper. "I worked on lighthouses all over Ireland, from the Blasket Islands to Castletownbere to Wexford," he added. "I remember one time, before I got married, I was sent to an island off Mayo. “I went over on the boat on December 23 and didn't get off until March 18. It could be a lonely time." Cycling is now Eugene's passion and it's clearly keeping him fit. "Leaning forward on the bike seems to stretch my spine so it has helped my back,” he stated. “I've never had any bad injuries from cycling. "I've fallen off the bike but never when I'm away. “It's usually wet leaves on the ground that scuppers you.” The keep fit Northsider also runs marathons, completing his first one in a time of three hours and 34 minutes. “I was chatting to a guy who had run it in three hours and 29 minutes, and when I asked him his age, he said he was 72,” stated Eugene. "He said the only way to keep going was to keep running and exercising." Eugene cycles on a mounted training frame at Howth Pier on bank holidays for eight hours or more a day. He has also fundraised in local shopping centres including Donaghmede, Northside and St Stephen’s Green. Next on the horizon for Eugene is a 500-kilmometre cycle in Monterey, California. That will take place from September 3-13 and will help him to prepare for his biggest feat yet - a cycle across America from June 21 to August 10, 2009, covering 3,629 miles in 50 days. Eugene O’Leary is constantly seeking donations and sponsorship to help him reach his target of e250,000 and urges anyone who can help to get in touch by visiting www.the-pedalling pensioner.org |
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I have no sympathy for him. If he wants to own a dog, ...
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Developed by Kevin Flynn