An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 15 now the 5th July of 2019 and with the aim of walking from the North- ern most point on mainland Iceland at Rifstangi, 3kms below the Arctic Circle, to the Southern most point at Dyrholaey, near the town of Vik." The route is now close to 600kms and will make use of the F Road network for the most part, with the final section using two of Iceland's most famous hiking trails the Laugavegur and Fimmvorduhals trails. Although Iceland during the summer is often called 'the land of the midnight sun' due to the extremely long hours of daylight, with full darkness not present for some months, it is still a wild place, and because it's so close to the Arctic circle, you can experience extreme weather at short notice, which can challenge even the most prepared and experienced hikers. Dermot explains that, "Because these trails can sometimes be shut due to bad weather (blizzards can happen even in July) a backup route has been mapped out and plans are in place to meet the unexpected. The current plan is to complete the route in three weeks or slightly more including rest days." A Helping Paw: All the funds raised from completing this Herculean ef- fort across the remote Icelandic landscape will go directly to 'Dogs for the Disabled', this a unique charity founded in Cork in 2007 to improve the lives of children and adults living with physical disabilities in Ire- land. CEO Jennifer Dowler outlines that, "they deliver approximately 25 fully trained assistance dogs each year to their profoundly disabled part- ners." They do this incredible work while operating on a budget of circa €300,000 per year. They have five core staff and the rest of their team is made up of dedicated and selfless volunteers. This charitable body has developed a unique Assistance Dog Stability Programme for children, while their long-term vision is to have a global reach by replicating our Assistance Dog Stability Programme around the world. Jennifer continues, "The charity supports each of these won- der dogs for their entire life – from birth through to retirement, and while they ensure the highest standards possible in running an ethical breeding and training programme – breeding and training all their own dogs in-house." They also work with the Irish Prison Service whereby inmates are actively involved in taking care and training of our pups, which has given great results in rehabilitation of prisoners. Their goal is powerful yet simple, to con- tinue serving and helping the most vulnerable in society. Broadcaster Deirdre O'Shaughnessy is volunteer Charity Director who is passionate about the services provided by 'Dogs for the Dis- abled' and she feels strongly that people like Dermot who undertake these events to support the charity are: "Fantastic, they are seriously committed people." She also states that charities have had a hard time in the recent past when it comes to funding, so, "we take our responsi- bilities as directors very seriously." Chairman of the Charities Board, overseeing all this important work is Dr Tom Clonan, journalist, author and noted security analyst. The former Defence Forces Cap- tain and United Na- tions Peacekeeper has a deep personal connection with this charities work, his son Eoghan, suffers from a rare neuromuscular disease. "He is a bright happy boy, an inquisitive teen- ager and a great big brother – who happens to use a wheelchair and be legally blind." Eoghan has an assistance dog called 'Duke' and Dr Clonan describes the impact of Duke on Eoghan's life, "as simply transformative, for the entire family really." It was a chance pass- ing of one of the charities vans which lead to Dr Clonan applying for an assistance dog for Eoghan, and he has been involved now for many years trying to help those who have helped his family so much. Dr Clonan says that, "without people like Dermot, it would not be possible to help so many families. They are real life heroes". You can follow Dermot's adventure on Twitter @dermotcosgrove and #Walk4TheDogs2 or check out his Facebook page www.facebook.com/ walk4thedogs; he hopes to post regular updates. If you can, please sup- port: https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/walk-for-the-dogs-2 or to learn more about Dogs for the Disabled please visit: https://dogsfordisabled.ie Dermot training in Ireland. Pictured l/r: Mayor of Ennis Clare Colleran with assistance dog Leon, Aisling Glynn and her assistance dog Gina along with Dogs for the Disabled CEO Jennifer Dowler and Dermot Cosgrove who were out raising awareness and funds for Dogs for the Disabled. The route.

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