An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 14 | By SGT WAyNE FITZGERALD PhotoS SGT MICHAEL BURKE AND TEAM ALPHA O n 2nd July 2016, team Alpha, comprising three Defence Forces veterans, along with a church pas- tor, a retired ruby player and a college graduate, will undertake a 24km mountain march across the Brecon Beacons in Wales, under SAS selection course rules, carry- ing 40lb packs. their joint objective is to help raise much needed funds for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. The members of the team are John Corcoran (team leader), ARW veteran and former sniper instructor; Tony Power, Bausch + Lomb Waterford's environment, health and safety manager and Defence Forces veteran; Gerard Corco- ran (John's brother), also a Defence Forces veteran and a support weapons and infantry instructor; Shane O'Doherty, is an area sales manager for Tennants Building Products Ltd and has recently retired from playing rugby; and John's two sons, Jamie Corcoran, a pastor of the Lighthouse Church in Navan, and Rudi Corcoran, a DCU social media graduate who is looking after the team's social media campaign. The event, called the 'Fan Dance' after its location on Pen y Fan (www.thefandancerace.com), it is based on the test march for SAS selection, one of the most demanding mili- tary training courses in the world. Tony says the event is: "The closest you can get to the real SAS experience and is staffed by former SAS and Special Boat Service (SBS) operatives. The event is run under strict military protocol – a family run it certainly is not." Gerard says: "The event gives civvies an idea of what military endurance tests are like. We get joining instructions similar to attending a military course and our back- packs will be weighed; if found underweight we will be disqualified. The event was created by SAS veteran Ken Jones, who wrote 'Darkness Descending', which I highly recommend. We'll probably be the only Irish team competing and we've being training for the last seven months around the Comeragh Mountains and Mount Leinster, which is ideal as it mimics the start of the race." Rudi said of training for this event with military veterans: "I lived on Pearse Terrace in the Curragh for eight years when my dad was serving there, so I knew what to expect!" Tony told us why they chose the charity as their beneficiary: "John is a full-time carer for his wife Karen, who has lost her eyesight and has been greatly supported by the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. She has been given her own dog 'Ike', who is a life-saver for her. It costs €45,000 to train just one guide dog and there is a constant demand for new ones." John added: "Ike has made a huge impact on Karen's quality of life, so we have a vested inter- est in supporting this great charity." Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is dedicated to helping those who are blind or vision im- paired, and the families of children with autism, to achieve improved mobility TEam aLPHa Take on the SAS Challenge "The event is run under strict military protocol – a family run it certainly is not" Tony Power in his DF service days

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