Blade of Glory’s seventh wonder of the world!

The Blade of Glory has secured his seventh Guinness World Record by pulling a 200-tonne ferry. However, last Saturday's record attempt by Shane McLaughlin in the Gaeltacht village of Burtonport wasn't entirely plain sailing.

The high winds were blowing against him, and in the course of hauling the boat five metres required to break the record, the Clones man was thrown forward when a rope tangled on a pier post and then snapped loose.

McLaughlin suspects he had reached around 10 metres before the fall.

“When the rope came loose it fired me forward and that’s when I slipped and fell, but it was already the Guinness World Record at that stage.”

Shane, who lost his leg 14-years-ago, became a Paralympian because he wanted to prove to amputees they could still compete at the highest level in their sport of choice.

He intends to make an 800-tonne boat pull in the fishing village of Killybegs his final world-record attempt over the August Bank Holiday weekend: “I’m going to finish off on a high,” he insists.

After his final Guinness World Record attempt, McLaughlin said his focus will shift to training amputees to follow the track his blade has blazed. He is also campaigning for truck pulling to become a Paralympic and Invictus Games event.

As part of a busy weekend, Shane pulled a truck along Main Street in Carrickmacross on Friday evening during the Street Festival opening parade, with crowds lining the route. The Farney Foundation’s Co Monaghan Person of the Year also cut the tape to declare the festival open alongside his daughter Jessica.

On Sunday morning, just hours after claiming his seventh Guinness World Record, he completed another lorry pull. Although he says his next record attempt will be his last, he has left open the possibility of returning to the sport. Whether it is boats, planes, trains, lorries or cars, Shane summed up his attitude simply: “It doesn’t bother me, it’s just another day at the office!”