Charity walker stranded in Leitrim by weather during 26-county challenge

A man walking through all 26 counties to raise funds for the Irish Children’s Health Foundation is seeking accommodation in Leitrim for Wednesday night after being stranded due to the weather.

Praveen Rawal is making a 1,200km walk through every county in the Republic in 30 days to raise funds for the Irish Children’s Health Foundation.

Originally from India but living in Laois for four years, he has set a goal of becoming the first person to complete a connected walk through every county in Ireland in an effort to raise €50,000 for the charity.

He is sorting accommodation as he goes and is being helped by people along the way in local communities, hotels and churches who want to help him on his way.

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He has had quite an interesting trip, starting from the Spire in Dublin on Valentine's Day before heading to Ashbourne in Meath, then on to Louth, to Carrickmacross in Monaghan and on to Cootehill in Cavan on Monday.

But it has not all been smooth sailing as, the next day, he was late getting started and ended up staying an extra day in Cavan, spending the night sitting in a Garda station waiting room before heading to Leitrim Village.

He encountered more challenges when he arrived in Leitrim Village on Tuesday night and was unable to find accommodation. He had to head back to Carrick-on-Shannon and book a hotel room for the night.

He was meant to head for Bundoran on Wednesday, but his late-night detour back to Carrick-on-Shannon and the yellow weather warning across the area have meant he is delayed in Leitrim for another day.

“I was supposed to leave today, but the weather forecast is that it will be like very much raining for all counties, so I wasn't sure if it would be the right move to go ahead now.”

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The delay has come at a useful time for him as he is 200km into his journey and wants to rest, as his knee and ankle are in pain while his body adjusts to the challenge he is undertaking.

He is a marathon runner and has completed some walks for charity before, but this is the first time he has taken on a challenge of this size, walking 12,000km in a month.

“The pain I will have to go through, it is not as hard as what children have to face or the families of sick children have to face.”

In the worst-case scenario, he will have to book hotel spaces along the way, but he says he will finish the challenge.

He admits that the goal of €50,000 is a lofty one, but he is not sure that he will get there but he says it is picking up momentum as he heads through the counties.

“I am not saying that it will be like €50,000, but even if it reaches €5,000 or €10,000, still it will make a difference.”

Despite the setbacks, he remains determined to complete all 26 counties in 30 days and raise as much funding as possible for sick children and their families.

“My main thing is finishing what I have committed to, 26 counties in 30 days, and raise as much funds for kids as I can.”

Donations can be made on Rawal's GoFundMe page, and he can be contacted at 089 979 0397.