Operation Transformation to film in Moate this weekend

Operation Transformation will be filming in Moate this Friday at 7pm as the Ad Break Challenge will be held outside Moate Community Centre.

Sandra Julian of Dancezone Stage School is calling on all Dancezone members, families, friends and the wider community of Moate to get involved. She is looking for people of all ages and abilities to join Dancezone members and fitness expert Karl Henry as they step into the new year.

Kilbeggan is the home of Operation Transformation 2024. Each week the five leaders will have their Health Check-In at St James Hall, Kilbeggan. In partnership with Westmeath County Council, the county will host the weekly Ad Break Challenges where Karl Henry gets groups from across the county moving, as well as the audience at home.

Senior Executive Officer for Community Development & Corporate Services from Westmeath County Council, Pat Murtagh, said: “Westmeath County Council welcomes Operation Transformation to the beautiful Lake County. We are proud to support our diverse communities by providing opportunities for healthy living, sporting and physical activities. Westmeath, in the centre of Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, is the ideal destination for outdoor activity and adventure with nearly 100km of scenic greenways, along with woodland walks and our wonderful lakes.”

Operation Transformation returns tonight (Wednesday) at 9.35 pm on RTÉ One with five new leaders.

The new leaders of the health plan have already been announced and the first leader is Edel O'Malley from Castlebar, Co. Mayo. She said: "I am most looking forward to bringing some positivity and motivation regarding health and fitness into my life. To prioritise my own wellbeing without feeling guilty and to become a healthier and more energetic Mam for my son.”

Also taking on the challenge is Noel O'Connell from Co. Kildare. Noel said he is "looking forward to working with the experts, it’s a fantastic opportunity, where or when will one ever receive this level of expertise investing in you.”

Anne Cushen from Kiltealy, Co. Wexford will also lead the health plan for 2024.

She explained: “I look forward to getting my mobility back and not feeling trapped in my stiff body. I hope to gain a freedom that will let me live life to the full in the future with osteoarthritis. I just want to feel normal.”

Michelle Rogan from Dublin but who lives in Kilmessan, Co. Meath will join the other leaders in putting her health to the forefront in 2024. “What I would like most from Operation Transformation is to find myself again and not just be Mammy, become fit and healthy and learn to live a balanced lifestyle. I want to show other women in my position that we are worthy of an hour a day to ourselves.”

The final leader is Darragh Fitzgerald from Limerick who is married and has two children. As a teen Darragh overcame a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma called Burkitts. Two years ago he was back in the hospital with an abnormal heart rhythm and was then diagnosed with atrial Fibrillation.