Pixie's still pedalling

When a member of the Virginia Triathlon and Cycling Club’s 'Race Around Ireland’ team first made contact with Liam Lynch in 2014 wanting to support him in his quest to buy a specialised bike for his disabled daughter Fionnuala, he admits being “left speechless” at the other end of the line.

Now two years after the local team won the four-man race category, posting a gruelling time of three days and seven hours, and 12 months since Liam and Fionnuala paraded their new bike to an audience by Lough Ramor, the local family remain eternally grateful to all who backed their cause.
Speaking to The Anglo-Celt from Achill where the Oldcastle family were holidaying with Fionnuala, now aged nine, Liam says: “We were overwhelmed by the community support. We are so thankful to Virginia Cycle Club, to everyone behind the fundraising and everybody who supported us. It’s been life-changing really.”
Four cyclists, Matt Molloy, John McEnteggart, Lorne Stewart and Jimmy McQuade, cycled 2,170km around Ireland in support of 'Pedal for Pixie’, the initiative set up after Liam’s cousin spotted the wheelchair bike online and shared it on his Facebook page.
“She knew I was into cycling and put a picture of the bike on my Facebook page. Half as a joke, I  shared it saying 'Forget about carving, this is the next bike I’m going to buy’ and thought nothing more of it.
“It wasn’t until a couple of months later that one of the guys involved in the Race Around Ireland, Matt [Molloy] got in contact with me. I was wondering what it was about, and a little worried they were going to ask me to do it because, while I like cycling, I certainly wouldn’t be to their standard. But then he told me their idea and I was kind of speechless for a few minutes.”
Liam and Tracey Holsgrove’s daughter Fionnuala, was born with a rare neurological condition called Dandy-Walker Syndrome, which in her case means that two parts of her brain did not develop properly. Fionnuala cannot walk or stand unaided and, while she is very talkative and vocal, she remains delayed in other areas of her development. She also has epilepsy.
The campaign launched as a heartfelt way to allow her go travelling with her keen cyclist dad.
“The likelihood of Fionnuala being able to cycle any sort of a bike was pretty slim, so this was the only way to get her out really. I mean, I wasn’t even really aware that such a bike existed until my cousin posted that picture. There are probably not many of them about, our’s might be the only one in Ireland eventually,” explains Liam.
Since its arrival, Liam has tinkered with the set-up, even upgrading it with an electric assist for steeper inclines.
“There are a few tight hills around here in Achill so it’s been put to the test. The bike is quite heavy but the assist does make things like climbing hills a whole lot easier. It’s a fantastic contraption and Fionnuala really loves being on it. I had tried a trailer previously, a guy was selling it and I’d got a loan on it for a couple of weeks and she seemed to love it. But when we went on holidays and put her in it she didn’t like it at all so I ended up selling it. The current bike is more like her wheelchair. She’s sitting out in the front, she has the wind in her face, loves the bumps and it gives her so much more space and freedom. It’s brilliant,” he adds.