Bressie has reached The Rising's end in Limerick
Niall Breslin has reached the end of his kayaking journey along the River Shannon in aid of the Lust for Life charity, raising €78,056 of the €100,000 goal so far.
In a post on social media, the social entrepreneur, musician and author said:
"I won't be putting my mum through that again #therising".
The challenge was the brainchild of Bressie and Bunbrosna native Ray Carolan, of Lakeland Kayaks on Mullingar's Harbour Street.
The pair, along with a group of four others from Westmeath, two Kerry men and a man from Mayo, endured "monstrous" weather conditions and treacherous waters throughout the entirety of the seven-day challenge.
The aim was to raise funds for A Lust For Life schools programme, which is available to over 50,000 Irish primary school children.
Breslin hopes to make it available to every child in primary school by the end of 2024, and to develop a new secondary schools offering.
The group navigated 330km of waterways over seven days.
Commencing at Dowra in County Cavan on Friday June 30 last, they travelled to Carrick-on-Shannon, Lanesborough, Athlone, Portumna, Banagher, Killaloe, before arriving to a welcoming party at St John’s Castle, Limerick, today.
Speaking on the penultimate day, Breslin said:
"Lough Derg today was monstrous. I’ve never seen a lake act like it. It took us over 8 hours to clear the whole try thing and my body is very sore after it , but mentally I’ve [sic] totally drained. We have one day left as we make our way to Limerick tomorrow for a special celebration," he said, before adding:
"You think what we have done is hard? Try be a parent or guardian trying to get support for their children when it comes to mental health in this country.
"It’s not good enough. That is why we are doing this. So we can better support our youth.
Early prevention programmes through education is part of this better way. @a_lust_for_life is now in 1000 primary schools. We want it in every school. They are free programmes so we must fundraise to deliver them."
To donate, go to www.alustforlife.com/therising