Cycling home to Cobh from Copenhagen!

Cork man Damian O’ Brien to make 12 day long 1935km journey from Denmark by bike to raise funds for Cancer Research

Cobh native and long time supporter of Cork Cancer Research Centre Damian O’ Brien will embark upon a challenging cycle, from Copenhagen in Denmark to Cobh in Cork, to raise funds for Breakthrough Cancer Research, a charity which supports research into treatments for poor prognosis cancers at Cork Cancer Research Centre.  Damian will take to two wheels on Friday 16 August heading west through 4 counties in 12 days before reaching his final destination where he will be greeted by friends, family and supporters.

This planned cycle trek is by no means an easy feat and will take impressive levels of commitment and pedal power to complete.  It involves navigating a variety of challenging terrains in changeable weather commencing with a 310km cycle across Denmark in order to catch a ferry to the UK where he will then continue on a daunting 620km cycle across England & Wales to catch a final ferry before enduring a further 190km across Ireland to his hometown of Cobh.  This amounts to a total cycle distance of 1120km and an overall distance of 1935km, with various time constraints and logistical demands also to be considered, it is a huge physical and mental challenge. Damian will be joined on the 12 day cycle by Alistair Mackinnon a friend and work colleague who hails from the Isle of Barra on the Outer Hebrides.

The inspiration for the mammoth 12 day journey came when Damien started planning the move home as his 3 year Danish work assignment drew to a close.

“The easier and probably smarter thing to do would have been to simply book a flight and be home in a day but I wanted to mark the end of my wonderful time in Denmark with something a little bit more memorable” confessed Damien. “I have been involved as a supporter of Cork Cancer Research Centre since 2006 so once I came up with the idea of cycling all the way home I knew that I could use it as an opportunity to raise awareness about the important research they do and raise funds to support their life changing work. Alistair shares a similar passion for adventure coupled with the drive towards social responsibility in support of worthy causes. Having both lost close family members and friends to cancer we are highly motivated to doing our bit to help sustain the hugely awe-inspiring work that the dedicated research scientists are undertaking at Cork Cancer Research Centre”.

Commenting on the Copenhagen to Cork Cycle Challenge Orla Dolan Fundraising Manager Breakthrough Cancer Research commended Damian on his undertaking and urged the public to support him in his endeavour. Fundraising efforts such as this provide Breakthrough Cancer Research with the resources to really make a difference in fighting poor prognosis cancers and increasing the life expectancy for those living with cancer. 

To support Damian O’ Brien on his Copenhagen to Cork Cycle Challenge in aid of Breakthrough Cancer Research and Cork Cancer Research Centre donate on mycharity.ie or justgiving.com or simply search for “Damian O’Brien’s Cycle Copenhagen to Cork for Cancer Research”. 

Alternatively donations can also be made directly to Breakthrough Cancer Research via www.breathroughcancerresearch.ie /1890998998