An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 19 On hitting my target I sent word out through social media with an invitation to any serving or former PDF/RDF members of any of the artillery units based in Magee Bks to accompany me on this White Lanyard Walk. This gave vol- unteers nearly four months to prepare, as my intended date for the walk was 24th September, the 18th anniversary of the closing of the barracks. Service support for the walkers was needed to ensure a successful outcome and in this regard there was no hesita- tion from Tom Leigh, who offered his services as a support driver as well as providing refreshments along the way, and Peter Webb, who said he would put a team of four steward/ medical bikers together to get us safely to our destination. Jim Philips, one of our walkers, offered to provide a camp- ervan to help to facilitate a lunch break for the walkers in Dunlavin, where sandwiches and muffins would be provided by John and Gillian Kinsella. Paddy O'Shea drove the camper and had the kettle boiling for our arrival at Dunlavin and at our final destination – a welcome sight indeed! An offer by Ciaran O'Neill to photograph the event from start to finish was duly jumped at. Insurance for the event was generously sponsored by Kildare Town ex-Servicemen and Women's As- sociation, saving another expense. I also needed a way to get the gunners home, so I ap- proached the Artillery School for help and was immedi- ately of fered a 24-seater bus, which would also act as a support vehicle, following behind the walkers. The plan was coming together. The day of the walk finally arrived and by 0815hrs all 21 walkers and the other elements of the event had reported in. We busied ourselves with final administration and prepara- tions, a photo shoot, and a few words of encouragement from Brian McEvoy of Pieta House (our chosen charity). After a safety brief we fell in and set off, with the walkers, stewards and medical support groups being escorted by the Garda Traffic Corps as far as Brownstown. The weather forecast of breezy conditions with some rain proved wildly optimistic as the unrelenting rain driven by strengthening and ever-changing winds made for difficult walking conditions. However, with true artillery determina- tion the gunners kept rolling along. The importance of the work by our stewards, keeping us safe while allowing traffic easy passage; our support team, keeping us fed and watered; our photographer, who record- ed the event from start to finish; and our support bus driver, cannot be overstated. With the heavy rain causing torrents of water to sweep down the Wicklow roads the walkers completed the task with some sore feet and tired muscles, soaked to the skin but elated by a sense of achievement. Our journey from Magee Bks to the Seskin field gun posi- tion covered 37km (mostly uphill!) and all 21 walkers finished, in times from just shy of six hours to six-and-a-half hours. Our sponsorship cards raised €7,525 for Pieta House, an im- pressive amount for such a small number of walkers. Already, we are all looking forward to doing it again next year and maybe turn the walk into an annual event. walkers: Eric Byrne, Mick Cleary, Martin Cosgrave, Danny Farrell, Gerard Fogarty, Dermot Geoghegan, Paddy Gib- ney, John Godkin, Martin Kelly (organiser), Paul Kelly, Nigel Marcus, Cathal McAlister, Tony McCarthy, Jason McGannon (representing his father John [RIP]), Dondy O'Connell, Tygo O'Neill, Chris Pender, Jim Philips, Keith Ryan (Kildare), Keith Ryan (Newbridge) and Liam Tiernan. Steward/medic group: Peter Webb, Willie Webb, Darren Webb, Martin Gorry and John Downey. Support group: Tom Leigh, Paddy O'Shea, Mark Godkin and Sammy Gilman.

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