Donegal boxer Jason Quigley is heading for Everest this week with a group from the county to raise money for charity.
Quigley has climbed the world inside the boxing ring – and now is one of 13 from Donegal going to the South Base Camp of Everest.
The voyage is all in aid of the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation.
“We will be trekking for six-eight hours a day and it’s actually something that really intrigues me,” Quigley says.
“It will be an unbelievable experience and it will be a different experience.
“You hear of different fundraisers like quiz nights or sponsored walks, but this is definitely different. This is another level.”
Bluestack Special Needs Foundation has been helping the lives of people with additional needs for the last 23 years and supports over 500 members.
Quigley was joined by members of the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation at Raphoe Boxing Club on Monday night for a send-off. Raphoe man Martin Laird presented Quigley with a banner to accompany him on the journey.
Raphoe Boxing Club stalwart Peter O’Donnell also made a presentation of sponsorship to Quigley and the gang, including Benji the Bluestack Bear, were given a warm welcome.
The crew fly out to Nepal on Wednesday and the three-week 130km trek will take them to the 5,364m South Base Camp – nine times the height of Sliabh Liag.
Jono Griffin of Wild and Free Adventure Co in Donegal Town has led seven previous fundraising treks to Everest Base Camp.
Griffin will be among the group that also includes Ciaran McHugh, Kris Alison, Matthew Alison, Shauna Chambers, Anna Good, Paul Good, Karen Walden, Mark Hartigan, Jason Connor, Andrea Dillon and Linda Adams.
“It’s a privilege to organise and lead the team,” Griffin says. “I have been so fortunate to have had many of the young adults from Bluestack Foundation out on the water on different occasions over the last few years. It has been such a rewarding and uplifting experience.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the staff, who are just so dedicated and committed to going the extra mile to enhance the lives of the young people in their care.”
This will be Griffin’s eighth time on such a trek to the Himalayas.
He says: “I am excited to get back with this awesome team from all over Donegal.”
Quigley was initially approached by Ballybofey woman Annmarie McGeehan and he was immediately interested.
Quigley fought in a 2013 AIBA World Boxing final in Kazakhstan and in 2021 challenged Demetrius Andrade for the WBO World Middleweight title in Boston. For a period in 2013, he was the number 1 ranked amateur middleweight in the world.
“Bluestack Special Needs Foundation is an unbelievable group,” Quigley says.
“Any time I have ever done anything for them, I walk away and feel like I have got so much out of it myself.
“I was at the Bluestack Foundation sports day at the Finn Valley Centre and handed out their prizes. I was 100% interested from the start. Annmarie has backed me and supported me since.
“We’ll all work as a team and I’m sure we’ll create a bond that will last for a long time, something that can only be created on an adventure like this.
“Our drive and our dedication is to the Bluestack Foundation; that will get us to where we’re going. We have a reason and a purpose to what we’re doing and it’ll drive us on. It will be the experience of a lifetime too and I’m really excited.”
