An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 14 | Walk for the Dogs Military Veteran walks the Arctic Circle Trail for charity BY CPO/ERA RAUIRÍ DE BARRA A t the age of 19, Dermot Cosgrove had a taste for adventure, and the call of la Légion Étrangère brought him to France, over the next six years he served with great pride and distinction across the globe; including service in the First Gulf War. He even served twice in Somalia with UNTAF and UNOSOM, while there he met his fellow countrymen deployed with the Irish Defence Forces. Although he has long hung up his kepi blanc, this native of Ennis has continued to work as a security consultant for over twenty years mainly in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia; he has also combined his two lifelong loves of hiking and birdwatching into a guided tour business, where clients can avail of his expert ornithology knowledge and his vast walking wisdom by joining him on tours in Ireland and across Europe. Dermot is also a man with a seriously big heart, who has, since 2016 been raising money for Dogs for the Disabled (charity #17821), and to date he has raised over €13,000 to assist this charity in their incredible work. Dermot is currently planning and training for his next fund-rais- ing effort - a 600km trek across Iceland in July 2019. Dermot explains, "I first heard about 'Irish Dogs for the Disabled' via my sister – who fosters dogs during the socialisation phase of their training – but it was really after I decided to raise funds for them, that I learnt the real extent of the fantastic work they do". Charitable events such as his are a really important part of helping the charity achieve their mission: "They don't receive any supplemen- tary funding from the Irish government, so they rely on fundraising and donations. Each dog, which from the time it's born, to the time it is assigned to a person, costs about €15,000 – it's a massive investment." His long-distance hiking efforts are worth it, as he says that, "Roughly 9 out of 10 recipients of a dog are children, and they receive their assistance dog completely free of charge. So, when you hear a 6 or 7-year-old say that they can't wait to get a dog because then they can get rid of their wheelchair and walk, things hit a whole new level of importance." Marche ou Crève: Dermot gained the walking bug from long days under a military pack, he explains that, "I suppose my experi- ence of long-distance walk- ing started while I was in the French Foreign Legion. The Legion loves to walk, and walk far, and I spent quite a bit of time in both the Pyrenees and the Alps. After leaving the Legion I became more of a day hiker and bird watcher, and living in the west of Ireland you have endless opportunities." The slightly more sedate short hikes kept him ticking over for a while, and it was his love of birdwatching that led to his thoughts turning to ever greater distances again, "My interest in long-distance walking was rekindled in 2016 during a conversation online about geese with Huw Thomas, who is part of the Greenland White-fronted Goose Study and is an avid long-distance walker, having walked the Arctic Circle Trail [ACT] and around Greenland 8 or 9 times. Huw agreed to mentor me for a solo walk of the ACT as long as I was serious." Dermot also decided that if he was going to be there for himself, that he might be able use the opportunity to help others, "while the trek was something of interest to me, and I want to try and photo- graph the wildlife there, I felt that I could combine that by raising funds for a good cause." Dermot's first 'Walk for the Dogs' campaign in 2016/2017 raised nearly €11,000, "The charity honoured me by naming a pup after me (Kossie), so my hope is to go one better this year and raise the full €15,000 to cover the cost of one assistance dog." So this intrepid adventurer has been training very hard as he intends to go further than ever before with his 'Walk for the Dogs 2'. This is no light undertaking, this is an expedition which must be planned with military precision to ensure its success. "The planned departure date is Dermot with Cookie and Sally. Dermot in Greenland.

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