Louisburgh man embarks on cycling expedition to raise money for African charity

Louisburgh native, Daithi Heneghan, is set to undergo a gruelling 4,477 km cycle this July, the equivalent of climbing four Mount Everests, that will see him cross ten countries in aid of East African charity COCO, which seeks to provide education to impoverished children.

The arduous journey will see Heneghan pushed to extremes, but it is a challenge he has extensively trained for and intends to meet head on. The 18-day cycle will begin in Turin, Italy on July 22, with Heneghan set to arrive in the North Cape, Norway, around August 9. Those 18 days will be spent on his bike for up to 13 hours a day, followed by wild camping for at least ten nights. Undergoing gruelling training, Heneghan has prepared himself for sleeping rough by camping in the garden at his home in Edinburgh.

Heneghan decided to do the challenge in order to raise money for East African charity COCO. Founded by Olympian Steve Cram and former pilot Jim Panton, COCO develops community schools in the region, provides agricultural training and offers small loans to budding entrepreneurs.

The money raised by Heneghan’s cycle will go towards creating a new library and laboratory in a school in Kenya as part of the country’s new STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths - curriculum, which aims to lift children out of poverty. Five hundred pupils will benefit from the new facilities, which will cost €82,000 or €18.89 per kilometre of the event.

Heneghan said: “I saw the impact that education can make in poor countries. I looked at my own country and when I was born, back then a lot of people went on to leave Ireland. Very few finished secondary school, never mind university, whereas now, nearly 80 percent of people in Ireland go to university and it's one of the richest countries in the world.

“The Kenyan government wants every school to have a laboratory and to also have a library included. So, my aim is to try and raise as much as I can of that €82,000 to help them have some of the advantages that I was able to enjoy over the years. That’ll keep me going when it gets hard.

“I don’t know why but I love challenges. I just keep pushing myself as hard as I possibly can. It’s just so great to be on your own doing nothing but cycling all the time.

“I'm 57 and my wife is very worried about me doing this adventure. She is so worried that she's made me get a will prepared ... you know, just in case!”

Anyone who wishes to donate can do so at https://coco.enthuse.com/pf/daithi-heneghan.