Coastcarehead Séamustotackle 800kmofCamino
SÉAMUS CONNOR, chairman of Bray’s Coastcare group, will be heading off tomorrow to tackle the 800km Camino for the charity Aware.
Starting in the south of France and continuing through Spain to the finishing point in Santiago De Compostela, the route will take over 30 days to complete.
‘Mental health is something that I’ve realised is extremely important for all people, not just young people, for everyone,’ he said.
‘ The sad statistic is that one in four people in their lifetime will suffer from some form of mental illness, whether that’s alzheimer’s, anxiety, depression or something else.
‘I’ve lost people who meant a lot to me and took their own lives. I thought, I want to do something. I’m a teacher, I’ve got three months off during the summer.’
He wanted to do as much as he possibly could with his time off.
‘Rather than sit around wasting my time, I thought I love walking and hiking. Why not do something and do it for a charity?’
He’s not under any illusions about the difficulty of the hike.
‘It’s 800 km, it’s not going to be easy, but I want to do it for Aware, and mental health.’
At the time of press, his online fundraising page had exceeded €1,900, with a target of €2,000.
He would like to achieve, and possibly even exceed this target.
Séamus is paying all his own expenses, so every cent donated will go to Aware. ‘I’m not asking people to donate money for me to go on a holiday,’ he said.
Seamus will send a video blog from the Camino, a suggestion made by one of his students.
He hopes that people will watch his journey, and continue to donate during his hike.
There will also be a coffee morning and raffle at the Martello this morning ( Wednesday), from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Seamus is not heading out there unprepared. He went to the south of Spain at Easter and walked for the guts of two weeks. However he picked up an injury along the way.
‘ The problem was, the north and the south of Spain are very different. In the south it’s very hot and humid and I was walking on beaches.
‘I overdid it and ended up tearing my hamstring. I was nervous, I was thinking what if this happens on the Camino? But it’s the north of Spain, it won’t be as hot.’
He said that the climate will be more similar to that of Ireland, and he won’t push himself harder than he should.
Last week he walked from Kilcoole to Bray, and in the days between then and the trip he was making his final preparations.
He will carry a rucksack on the Camino, but his strategy is to pack light and use a new backpack with an aerated back to help keep him cool. He packed a little too much for his Easter trip, and learned his lesson on the practice run, as it were.
The Cuala Road native is a teacher at Gonzaga College in Dublin, and his students are very supportive of Seamus’ mission.
Now on the eve of the journey, Seamus is nervous, and a little excited about the challenge he faces.
‘I’m really looking forward to it,’ he said. ‘I know for a fact I’m going to make loads of friends along the way. There will be people there from all over the world because the Camino is so popular these days. It’s a pilgrimage route and people do it for all sorts of different reasons.’
To make a donation to the cause, go to justgiving.com and find ‘caminoseamus’.
It’s not going to be easy, but I want to do it for Aware and mental health