The staff of Kinnegar Brewing have raised a staggering €3,460 following their second 24-Hour Challenge!
This time their effort was in aid of a defibrillator for the Kinnegar beach near Rathmullan, the place that gives the brewery its name. The initiative really captured the imagination and the original target of €1,000 was surpassed even before the challenge kicked off at 3pm last Friday.
By the end of the weekend, the Go Fund Me page was registering a staggering €3,460 with further donations waiting to be lodged.
“It’s a monumental achievement and we’re bowled over by the level of support we’ve received”, admitted a delighted Libby Carton. “Our 24-Hour Challenge was the brainchild of a wonderful former employee of Kinnegar, Felix Firydus. Felix is from Bavaria but he became more local than the locals themselves during the time he spent with us here at Kinnegar! He’s played GAA for Munich and competed at past World GAA Games, but he was a keen member of Letterkenny Rugby Club during his time with us!”
Felix took responsibility for the graveyard shift from 2–4AM on Saturday, putting in an energetic running stint through Munich before a 4.30AM start to his workday at his new job in the famous Spaten Brewery. “It’s great craic!”, said Felix over WhatsApp, sporting the Donegal GAA shirt he was given by his Kinnegar colleagues when he left Letterkenny last year.
Rachel Carton, Kinnegar’s operations manager, was the first out of the blocks at 3PM on Friday. Although she’s more familiar with the saddle on the back of her horse, Merlin, she took to the 2-wheeled version like a pro and covered the ground from the brewery’s HQ in Ballyraine over back roads to Rathmullan so quickly that she had to do laps of the village to get her to the 5PM baton handover.
Rachel Carton, Kinnegar’s operations manager
She was followed by Angela Gallagher and Dillon McLaughlin who carried the baton walking for two hours in Corvaddy Woods and Queens, New York respectively. Sean McCarthy took over from 7–9PM, hiking from his home in Falcarragh along the coast to Dunfanaghy. “There was a rainbow ahead of me pointing to the pints of gold Scraggy Bay in Patsy Dans”, Sean laughed, “but I didn’t even need that for motivation — it’s just so good to get out and be active in the Donegal landscape.”
Iggy Murray took over the baton from Sean at 9PM, logging a massive circuit through the Rosses at twilight — Kinncasslagh, Burtonport, Dungloe, Annagry — finishing in the dark at 11PM. Next up was long-time Kinnegar colleague David Willis, now living and working in central London. In stark contrast to the natural environment through which Iggy rode, David put in an urban running shift, passing iconic landmarks like Tower Bridge and the Tate Modern along his route.
“We put updates into our Kinnegar Social WhatsApp group throughout the 24 hours”, explains Rick LeVert, “so everybody gets behind whoever is out there carrying the baton at any given moment. There’s a good bit of banter! The photos and comments flowing in provide a great record of the Challenge, along with the reports from different activity apps used to document the routes.”
Asterios Arvanitidis from Greece and John Brennan from Skerries, both current brewing interns at Kinnegar, mastered the daunting 12–2AM shift. They marched through the Friday night lights of Letterkenny and environs, just missing the torrential downpours that dotted the Challenge this year before handing over to Felix in Munich.
Felix Firydus
Jack Ledwith, Kinnegar’s packaging manager, took the baton from Felix at 4AM and blew the early morning cobwebs away with an impressive 2-hour circular spin on his bike, catching the sunrise over Lough Foyle and hitting a demonic maximum speed of 73.7km/h as he hurtled downhill through the dawn back to his home in Derry.
Damian McFadden, a new member of the Kinnegar team and a keen photographer, bore the real brunt of the unseasonal weather during his 2-hour hike out to Horn Head from 6–8AM. “I might have been drier if I’d gone for a swim”, he laughed. “I couldn’t keep my good camera dry so resorted to my phone for photographs.” If the shots he put into the WhatsApp group are anything to go by, it’s his eye rather than the equipment he’s using that’s important. He captured some stunning images of the scenery at Horn Head. “The rain cleared just in time — it was magical!” beamed a delighted Damian at the staff BBQ later that afternoon.
Kinnegar Brewery Post-Challenge BBQ
Cycling was the activity of choice for the biggest number of 24-Hour Challenge participants. Damian handed the baton over to Rick LeVert who put in a 3-hour effort covering a fair chunk of the Fanad peninsula. “I got dumped on by torrential showers about three times but there was time in between them to dry out again”, he reported on arrival home in Rathmullan.
It was Dave McDermott’s turn from 11–1PM and he put in a 2-hour cycling circuit from his home base in Churchill, through Glenveagh, including a quick paddle at Gartan for a change of pace. “It was just me, the sheep and the wind”, reported Dave. Who could ask for more?
Libby Carton manned the 1–2PM shift with a mixed walk and swim on the Kinnegar. “I can’t stay in the water longer than about 25 minutes before going blue”, she confessed, “so I swam the length of the Kinnegar in one direction and ran back. There were plenty of witnesses!”
Libby Carton braving the waves for the 24-Hour Challenger
Then it was over to 84-year old Margaret Carton, Kinnegar’s part-time bookkeeper, to get the Challenge over the line. “I started at the Mountain Top, came down through the park, and found a grand route through to Whitethorn and safely back to home base at the brewery.” She crossed the finish line just a few minutes after 3PM, miraculously dry, and concluding a magnificent effort from all involved.
“We’ve certainly raised enough to finance the defib”, confirmed Sean McCarthy, “but the really great thing is that there’s enough in the pot to support the ongoing servicing and maintenance of defibrillators in the Rathmullan area.”
The Rathmullan Community DeFib Watch which looks after the maintenance and upkeep of all the defibs in the Rathmullan community will use the cash injection wisely. “We’ll have enough to do plenty of training too”, explained Rosie Shovelin née Gallagher, the person who started the local initiative after witnessing her mother get into difficulties a few years ago. “We hope to run education sessions for 6th class pupils so that nobody leaves national school without an awareness and understanding of CPR and using a defibrillator”, Rosie continued. “There’ll also be more training for adults in the community.”
Kinnegar Community Beach Walk
Kinnegar Community Beach Walk
Libby Carton was keen to acknowledge the fantastic effort of Lisa McConnell and Eileen Borland who at short notice organised a Community Beach Walk on the Kinnegar at 9AM on Saturday morning in association with the Kinnegar 24-Hour Challenge. “It was a lovely mix”, smiled Lisa, “plenty of people I knew already and some that I didn’t, so it was a lovely way to include new and old members of the community.” The walkers were a particularly generous lot. When the collection bucket was emptied, Lisa and Eileen proudly handed Libby an amazing €560 to contribute to the cause.
“I think people really want to give to good causes,” says Libby Carton, “but they need a platform to do it. We can provide that platform.” “Social responsibility and sustainability are themes close to Kinnegar Brewing’s heart”, she continues. “We want to make a difference, not just by making great beer, but by creating good jobs and contributing to the place where we live and work.”
