Ultimate Hell Week 'a once in a life time experience', says local contestant

Ayesha Roche has played intercounty football for Westmeath and her native county Kerry as well as representing Munster and Ireland in rugby, but no level of training could have prepared her for what she endured as a contestant on Special Forces – Ultimate Hell Week, which is currently being aired every Thursday night on RTÉ 2.

A PE teacher in St Joseph's Secondary School Rochfortbridge, Ayesha is one of 28 contestants picked to compete in the latest series of the hit TV show where civilian recruits are put through the same gruelling selection process used to weed out soldiers who have applied to join the Army Ranger Wing (ARW), Ireland's elite special forces unit. The selection process is the hardest test that any Irish soldier can go through and has a failure rate of over 90 per cent.

Over seven days, Ayesha and her fellow recruits had to pass rigorous physical and mental tests that were devised by the course instructors, who are all ARW veterans. Surviving on two to three hours of sleep a night they will have to overcome cold-water events, height tests and claustrophobic challenges as well as various trials of strength, stamina and determination.

Each and every waking moment the recruits will face unrelenting pressure from the DS. Failure to meet the required standards means they will be asked to leave the course.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Ayesha says that while she trained harder than she had ever done before to try and get battle hardened for the show, training that included daily winter dips in the sea when she was back home in Kerry during lockdown, as well spending up to 50 minutes walking up and down her stairs with a weighted bag on her bag; nothing could have prepared her for what lay in store when she reached Camden Fort Meagher in Cork.

“I watched the show every single year and I thought I was prepared going in, but oh my God what I was met with day one coming off the bus, I never expected it to be that hard. It is so tough. It is relentless, nothing can prepare you for it.It is not for the feint hearted” she said.

In addition, to the exacting tests of physical and mental endurance, Ayesha says that trying to operate with only two or three hours sleep and minimal food and drink rations added another layer of difficulty to things.

“You are always on. Even when you don't have a task to do, you are literally just standing there ready to go because you don't know when they are going to come down and you don't what is going to be next.

“You come off one event, then repack you bag so you are ready to go again. You are always on edge. There is no rest. You are so fatigued so fast. You are constantly going. When you aren't going you are thinking about what is coming next.”

Contestants also had to contend with chief instructor Ray Goggins and his colleagues barking orders and dishing out abuse when their instructions were not followed correctly.

“It's not something you'd be use to in day to day life anyway. I wouldn't be the best under any bit of pressure or giving out (laughs), it definitely took a bit of getting used,” she said.

The third episode of the series is airing this evening at 9.30pm. Watching it back now, Ayesha says that it is an accurate representation of what went on over the week.

“The way it is edited, everything that has happened so far is a fair representation. I don't think they are going out of their way to make anyone look like a hero or a villain.”

While she has to remain tight lipped about how far she progressed in the process, she is delighted that she took part.

“When you come out you are nearly on a low. It's mad how quickly you become accustomed to it. It is surreal coming back out of it even though you are there for only a week. I am so proud of myself now. Especially when you see what you did endure. It was one of those experiences that are once in a lifetime and you are lucky that you get them.”