A Galway man is to climb Croagh Patrick continuously for 24 hours for two charities.
John Mullarkey will take on this challenge to raise funds for Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland and Parkinson's Ireland Galway.
The Dunmore man will scale the mountain before descending and turning to face into it again, repeating that process as many times as possible between 4pm on Friday right through to 4pm on Saturday.
Mullarkey has decided to raise funds for these two charities as his wife Paula was diagnosed with Parkinson’s several years ago and his friend Deirdre has a son with autism and he has seen the impact Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland has had on him.
The charity receives no government funding and never asks families to pay for their assistance dog.
Parkinson's Ireland Galway Branch offers a range of community-based support services throughout Galway, including physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, yoga, and dance and movement programmes.
Speaking to Galway Live, Mullarkey said “I always support Parkinson's as my wife Paula was diagnosed a few years ago and I'm good friends with Dee and her sister Margaret and I know how important Irwin is to Dee's son Joe and being a dog lover myself I decided to include Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland as well."
“The toughest part will be the night climbing as it will be surreal to be up there all by myself! Once dawn breaks during the night climb it will give me a big boost as Saturday will be a special day for everybody involved in this project," he continued.
Members of the public are encouraged to support John by joining him for part of the climb, offering encouragement from the mountain, or making an online donation.
All funds raised will be divided equally between Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland and Parkinson's Ireland Galway Branch. You can find more information here.
