AN INSPIRING young Irishman living with Cerebral Palsy has raised an incredible €25,000 for healthcare workers after walking the equivalent of a half marathon without the aid of his crutches.
Ciaron Noble, a sports fanatic and journalism student from Co Wicklow, walked 25 kilometres in his garden over the course five days to raise money for St Vincent’s University Hospital and Enable Ireland.
Enable Ireland is a non-profit state-funded organisation that provides free services to children and adults with disabilities and their families in Ireland.
Determined to do his bit to help the frontline staff and healthcare that have supported him during his life, Ciaron walked five kilometres a day without his walking aids.
“In the current global crisis people are all being tested,” he said.
“Our frontliners who work hard everyday to save lives especially in today’s world, putting themselves at risk to save others.
"They are faced with new challenges everyday and I wanted to make my own challenge to raise money.
"I, like many other young people, live with Cerebral Palsy.
"So simple things like walking are difficult, but I think we all need to do our bit.”
After five days of incredible effort, Ciaron completed his 25 kilometre challenge.
In the process, his achievement captured the imagination of a watching Irish nation, with Ciaron’s story finding its way onto social media and the news.
The donations have been flooding in ever since with the Wicklow native’s GoFundMePage total now standing at well over €25,000 and counting.
Following the completion of his 25 kilometre walk, Ciaron thanked everyone involved for their kind donations and words of encouragement.
"You guys gave me so much in support / fundraising and I’m a man of my word, in return I gave you everything I had,” he said.
"I haven’t really taken in what’s happened, I was just so focused on every step.
"I still have so many people to thank, I’ll try get to people within the next few days.
"Nothing is impossible, keep on keeping on."
A true inspiration. If you would like to donate to Ciaron’s campaign, you can do so here.
