Triple challenge in honour of Noel’s late niece and nephew
Dublin City Marathon is next
On Sunday, October 30, Noel O’Callaghan will undertake the Dublin Marathon, the last of three challenges he set himself to raise funds in honour of his niece and nephew Mark Rogers and Andrea Geraghty, who died from cancer in the last year.
“My niece and nephew, cousins Andrea Geraghty and Mark Rogers, died within months of each other,” Noel told the Westmeath Examiner. “Both of them were in their 40s, and both from cancer.
“And while that was going on, my younger brother Tony was being treated for cancer of the throat. It was devastating.”
Noel’s first challenge was the 2022 Defence Forces An Cosantóir 10km Road Race on October 12 at the Phoenix Park; followed by a Croagh Patrick climb three days later.
“Andrea died during the Covid lockdown and my sister Mary had very little access to her. She died from a rare cancer, small cell cancer of the bladder,” said Noel.
“Mark was a founding member and CEO of a company researching different cancers in Germany, and one of the cancers he was researching, colorectal cancer, was what killed him.
“He died in hospital during the lockdown in Germany, my other sister Pat used to go over, but again she had limited access.
“It’s been such a mind boggling, horrendous year that I had to do something. It’s only when you see first-hand the devastation cancer can cause that it hits you.”
Noel, who is “going on 65”, said Croagh Patrick was “horrendous”, as he was carrying an injury from the previous 10k challenge.
“The wind and the rain on the way up was blowing us off a little bit, and when we got to the top, hail storms hit us and lashed us out of it for 20 minutes. But when you consider what Mark and Andrea went through, it’s nothing by comparison.
“We’re raising money for the Irish Cancer Society and raising awareness for people to get themselves checked if they feel that something is wrong.”
Anyone wishing to donate online can do so via the GoFundMe page ‘In The Footsteps of Andrea and Mark’.
Noel also has sponsorship cards available, or he can provide bank details for the Irish Cancer Society, with a serial number dedicated to Andrea and Mark’s memory.
Noel said that Abby, Andrea’s daughter who took part in the Croagh Patrick climb, and who was a lab technician during the Covid-19 crisis, is now working in Amsterdam in stem cell research in a bid to fight cancer.