Virginia grandfather completes 165km cycle

An 83-year-old Virginia man has cycled The National Famine Way from Roscommon to Dublin to raise money for Help Our Homeless.

Gregory O’Reilly completed the cycle over the course of three days. He cycled 165km to raise money for the Kingscourt based charity who help feed homeless people in Dublin. So far, the endeavour has raised €3,700 with donations still coming through.

Last year Gregory cycled 30km to raise funds for The Holy Family School in Cootehill where his grandson attends.

“This year I was thinking what’ll I do? Will I do anything at all?” he wondered.

“The family was telling me no don’t do anything. So eventually I decided yes I’ll do something for the homeless.”

With his mind made up, the Knockbride native headed off to Kingscourt to get a new tyre on his 1964 Raleigh bike. There he was informed of “a lady across the road” who volunteers for the homeless. Gregory paid a visit to Sonya McMahon, who along with other Help Our Homeless volunteers, heads to Dublin three or four times per week to feed the homeless.

“I went across and she was there,” he said, recalling that she was “thrilled” when he explained what he was doing.

Prior to settling in Virginia, Gregory lived in Dublin for 35 years. During this time, he knew some people who “got into hard times” and “ended up on the road”.

“That was years ago and I had forgotten nearly all about it but I was back up in Dublin again and I seen some cases along the street.

“I said whatever money I can make at 83, I’ll do it.”

The National Famine Way is a 165km trail that symbolises the footsteps of the Strokestown tenants who were marched from Roscommon to Dublin in 1847 after they failed to pay their rent.

In Dublin, they boarded a ship to Liverpool before making the journey to North America, on board some of the worst coffin ships of the time. Cycling the historic way, Gregory learned that he was taking the same route as that of Daniel Tighe, a 12-year-old boy who was among the evicted tenants.

“He walked in the famine times to Dublin, him and his sister who was only nine years of age, and they walked all the way to Dublin. They were two of the ones that were saved when they got to the other side.

“I said: ‘When he’s 12 years of age and he walked all that journey, surely I can ride 165km’” “It was hard, I needn’t say now that it was easy,” admitted Gregory. “I managed it,” he added. Gregory started at 11am in Strokestown on the Tuesday, with the aim of finishing by lunch time on the Friday, however he completed the cycle in Dublin one day ahead of schedule.

“Instead of that I finished at 12 o’clock on Thursday. I was delighted with that,” he said.

Although he has no regrets regarding his fundraising efforts, he did admit that “between blisters and everything else” he had a “couple of days not too pleasant” afterwards.

“People ask me what practice did you do before this? I didn’t do anything. My bicycle was in the shed; it was taken out on the morning of the 29th of April and put on the back of a car and taken to Strokestown.

“That was me,” he surmised.

“I reached the end and I got my certificate and I’m proud of it,” concluded a delighted Gregory.