Friends take on Mizen to Malin fundraiser

The six - who were all school friends at Dominican College in Portstewart - are cycling from Mizen Head in Cork to Malin Head in Donegal in just seven days to raise funds for the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance.

The idea to take on the massive 680 km cycle came about as the father of one of the cyclists was involved in a cycling accident in County Tyrone and was airlifted by the Air Ambulance to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for treatment.

The group of friends decided to show their appreciation for the work of the Air Ambulance by taking on the charity cycle - a task made all the more remarkable as none of the men had cycled seriously before.

The team is made up of Conor Mullan, Andy McClelland, Stephen Ramsay, Declan Shiels, Peter McNally and Jonny McBride with support driver Tom Robinson.

The friends said: “This will be a huge challenge for us all, as amateur cyclists. The work required will, however, pale in comparison to that done by the Air Ambulance in Northern Ireland.

“We have seen firsthand the importance and impact of this work. AANI work with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) to provide the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS).

“In essence, they provide a 365-day-a-year service, providing high quality pre-hospital emergency care, and can access any location in the region within 30 minutes.

“They attend traumatic/emergency situations and greatly improve chance of patient survival by enabling rapid transport to hospital-based trauma services.

“By the beginning of 2022, they have completed over 2600 operations since 2017.”

The men’s progress can be followed by checking out their Facebook page Project Cycle Mizen 2 Malin.

Donations can also be made via their JustGiving page ‘ProjectCycle’s Project Cycle Mizen2Malin’READ MORE: Causeway Cycling Club fundraiser for Air Ambulance