Retired lecturer clocked up 1,700km on cancer walk

RETIRED university lecturer Dr Marty Holland has clocked up 1,700kms on foot as part of his solo walk around the coastline of Ireland to raise vital funds to support people affected by cancer.

The 65-year-old Belfast native set off on his Coast for Cancer challenge at the start of the summer in a bid to raise €50,000 for the Irish Cancer Society.

Marty arrived in Dundalk on Friday as he prepared for the final leg of his journey along the Munster and Leinster coast.

His journey through the Cooley penninsula was particularly poignant as he had visited his friend John O’Reilly, who passed away in April, many times.

‘John and I were old buddies who grew in Belfast and ended up a couple of miles from each other in Co Clare before he moved to Carlingford.’

He was inspired to take up the challenge to fund raise for the Irish Cancer Society after witnessing John and another friend, Michael O’Regan, die from cancer. ‘ The sense of powerlessness that I felt when my friends were dying from cancer motivated me to get out there and do something positive to support others going through cancer. Members of my own family have also battled cancer, and they are proof that cancer research is having a positive impact on survivorship.’

As part of his fund raiser, Marty has couch surfed around the country, relying on the kindness of strangers to put him up overnight.‘People have been very generous in opening up their homes to me. I’ve had so much support, there hasn’t been one single night where I was stuck for a bed,’ he said.

He was put up in Ballymascanlon Hotel as he set off on the final leg of this phase of his challenge which ended in Warrenpoint. ‘I’m taking a break for the winter and will start again in April,’ he said.

To support Marty donate at https://give.everydayhero.com/ ie/coast-for-cancer