O’Connors come close in Fittest Family final
RATHNURE family the O’Connors came agonisingly close to being crowned Ireland’s Fittest Family as the final aired on RTÉ on Sunday night. The family qualified for the final and managed to make it to the final face-off against the Beirne family from Leitrim, ultimately missing out on the win by a couple of seconds.
Managed by Wexford Hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald the family faced their share of adversity over the course of the series, losing Cathal (18) to a broken arm, with him having to be replaced by brother Ciaran (19).
The final got off to the best possible start for the O’Connor’s as father Chris (48) and daughter Róisín (14) managed to come first of the three families in a gruelling bog run. In a twist, host Mairéad Ronan told the families that they would have to face the same race again and Davy Fitz picked Mícheál (16) to run the gauntlet, where he was going very well until he got stuck in a patch of particularly thick bog.
In the car-pull, the family really showed its character, however, and they smashed it, earning a place in the final showdown with the Beirne family. One of the stars of this series, young Róisín showed amazing character after her race got off to the worst possible start when she took a rough tumble down some hay bales at the very start, bloodying herself in the process. She continued on valiantly though and was the first of her family across the line.
In a nail-biting finish, the O’Connor’s were just a couple of seconds behind the Beirne family crossing the line, narrowly missing out on the title of Ireland’s Fittest Family. Davy Fitz was full of praise for the Rathnure family, however, saying that they showed immense character and that he ‘couldn’t be prouder’ of the effort they put in throughout the series.