5 Peak Challenge honours Mayo’s James McNeive and raises over €100k for charity

In the heart of every community lies a story of strength, of shared purpose, and of people coming together in the face of unspeakable loss. The James McNeive Foundation is one such story — a living, breathing testament to the spirit of a young man whose impact continues to ripple far beyond his hometown of Knock, County Mayo.

Over the last number of weeks, the Foundation has captured both local and national imagination with its ambitious 5 Peak Challenge 2025, a journey spanning five of the highest peaks across Ireland and the UK — Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Snowdon, Carrauntoohil, and finally Croagh Patrick. But beyond the physical challenge lies something far more powerful: a deep, shared need to honour James’s life, to do something meaningful with the grief, and to give back in his name.

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"We're just a conduit," says Enda Sweeney, James' cousin and one of the founders of the James McNeive Foundation. "Everything that James did in his life — the kindness, the fun, the impact — we’re just harnessing that energy. At the end of this, Bernadette gets to hand over cheques with his name on them to causes that mattered to him. That’s the legacy."

“We really want to thank those 32 people that have taken that time to come support us and have taken their own annual leave and put their own hands in their pockets to pay for camper vans, food, travel and accommodation.” 

The response has been extraordinary. Over 900 donors have given generously, helping the Foundation raise a stunning €112,008 — a figure that, by sheer coincidence or fate, passed the €100,000 mark on James’s birthday, the very same day the group reached the summit of Ben Nevis.

Declan Sweeney recalls the emotional moment:  "It was a fluke of circumstance.  On the day we climbed Ben Nevis, James' birthday, and we hit 100 grand. So you couldn't, really, you couldn't write it.

“Raising money is only part of this. It is a fantastic thing to be able to do these wonderful things in James' name. This is also about bringing our family and our friends together in a time of grief and healing, and finding something positive to do with the grief. The difference this has made for our family, in terms of the support that we felt, we've been able to be there for each other through this experience, and we've been having good craic doing it. And if we only raised €10 it's still worth doing, as far as I'm concerned.”

From stories of ingrown toenails, stomach bugs, and the Voltarol-covered crew, to the unforgettable moment when wristbands bearing James’s name were left atop Ben Nevis and a rock brought down to be placed by his gravesite. The journey has been as symbolic as it has been physical.

But what stands out most isn’t the altitude — it’s the community.

"Knock has experienced enormous tragedy over the last year and a half," Enda reflected. "We’re not the only ones. And yet, the very people who have suffered their own losses have found it in themselves to come and help us on this challenge. And I do really want to put that out there, because that is quite an extraordinary act of selflessness."

Among the climbers was James's brother, Matthew McNeive, who receives dialysis as he awaits a kidney transplant. His presence on the journey — delayed only by treatment — was a moving reflection of the strength that runs through the McNeive family.

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And the support has gone global. From a quiz night in Dublin to a Sugarloaf climb, even 30 supporters in Australia, led by cousin Lorna and James’s best friend Ciaran Harrison, have raised their hands and hearts in solidarity.

Declan describes a moment on the mountainside: "I was 45 minutes from the top, cramped up, couldn’t move. Two McNeive cousins literally lifted my legs above my head. People were just skipping and laughing on the side of the mountain. Really lovely camaraderie. I managed to lift my way up. Whatever the two McNeives did for me. They really helped me and we all got to the top.”

As the group summits its final peak — Croagh Patrick — this Saturday, June 28, the event will close not with an ending, but a celebration: of James, of love, of resilience, and of a community that refuses to let grief have the last word.

This challenge — this movement — is proof that James McNeive’s legacy is not in a single act or gesture, but in the united effort of hundreds, doing what they can, where they can, to carry his name forward. And that, truly, is no small feat.