Marty Holland is taking a long walk around Ireland and he arrived in the Lecale yesterday en route to the Ards peninsula.
Walking in the North for health charity Friends of the Cancer Centre, he has covered Munster and Leinster and has yet to complete Ulster and Connaught. But he is not taking the shortest and easiest routes by no means. His journey is along the rugged and meandering coastline, along paths and secluded areas, along the most breathtaking scenery around the whole of Ireland.
Marty said: “I lost two very close friends to cancer not so long ago and while I’m fit and able I decided to give something back to help others and their families when they eventually face these difficult times. So in the South I am supporting the Irish Cancer Society and in the North, the Friends of the Cancer Society.
“I have just come from St John’sLighthouse and the scenery there looking over Dundrum Bay to the Mourne’s was just fantastic. I’m working my way along the Lecale Way and I’ll eventually get the ferry in Strangford for my walk in Ards.
“I have found the hospitality of the Northern Irish people amazing. I have not had to sleep rough yet. I have been couch surfing so to speak. To date I’ve covered 1900 kilometres and I’ve a long way to go yet, but I’m going well. I can cover 25 to 30 kilometres on a good day.
“I travel quite light and don’t even have a heavy camera. On the way I’ve encountered a few blisters on my feet and my legs feel a bit tired and bruised but other than that I am in good shape.
“I’ve been impressed with the contributions people have made on the ‘just giving’ donation link. People in the North have been very generous and I am very grateful. I really enjoy the humour along the way and the craic. I have been very well supported in the South to date and I’ve still Connaught to do there.”
Marty, a retired lecturer in special needs from Limerick University, said he had been on a number of treks around the world and loved the sense of adventure. He added: “I’ve been on the Camino walk in northern Spain three times and walked in Vietnam and Peru. These treks were for charity too and were great experiences.
“When I was a lecturer, I used to take students to Africa for charity work in The Gambia and I have also been to Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia. They were very different places from what we are used to, with people holding on to life with the threads of basic sustenance.
“So, I just heading now out the Strangford Road and hope to visit Ardtole Church and St Patrick’s Well as I pass through Chapeltown on route past Kilclief to Strangford. I understand it is a very beautiful part o the country. And that is what amazes me about this walk… the landscape varies so much and there is beauty over ever drumlin and round every bend. I’ll be in Antrim in a couple of days and I’m looking forward to that leg of the trip too.”
So please support Marty on his quest around Ireland for Friends of the Cancer Centre for his Northern Ireland leg of his trek.
You can make a donation at:
and check out his social media at:
Facebook: CoastforCancer
Twitter: @CoastforCancer  (please retweet his journey.)
