Bressie takes Lust for Life to the Shannon
Niall Breslin is discovering the beauty of Mullingar’s lakes and rivers from a different perspective as he trains for ‘The Rising’ – a kayak journey along the River Shannon from source to sea.
Bressie will navigate the 330km over seven days in July with fellow Mullingar man Ray Carolan of Lakeland Kayaks, to raise funds for the Lust for Life schools programme.
Commencing on July 5 at Dowra, County Cavan, the pair will stop along the way, to meet young people at Carrick-on-Shannon, Lanesborough, Athlone, Portumna, Banagher, Killaloe, arriving at St John’s Castle, Limerick on July 12. “We’re going to meet people along the route, have events where we can talk with the youth of the towns, we want to interact with the communities on the Shannon,” Bressie told the Westmeath Examiner.
“The idea came from Ray. I went to school with Ray and I was in his shop one day telling him about my charity A Lust for Life and what I’m trying to do. These school programmes are free and the only way we can keep them free is by fundraising. So he sent me a message later saying ‘Why don’t we kayak the Shannon’!”
Initially not impressed by the idea, Bressie’s reaction was ‘I’ve never kayaked before and if I am going to kayak I’m not going to kayak the biggest river in the country’, he says.
“And then Ray came back with ‘Why not?’. So that’s how it started.”
Niall, who has just embarked on a PhD at Trinity College, said Westmeath is “the best county to train in” for such an undertaking. “We’re about six weeks into training and we’ve trained constantly on the lakes of Mullingar and the River Inny, which is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. The thing about kayaking is it takes you to places where no cars go. I’ve seen parts of the lakes, parts of the river and parts of Westmeath that I’ve never seen before – and I’ve spent most of my life in Mullingar.”
Training involves following the shores of Lough Ennell and Lough Owel, and while it is “hard”, kayaking is his new favourite pastime.
“It is definitely physically one of the more demanding things that I’ve ever done, because it takes its toll on your shoulders, your back and your wrists, but it’s such a beautiful thing to do. Kayaking has quickly become my favourite fitness pastime. It’s a great way to get fit.
“And while we’re training for something here, most do it leisurely, go out on the kayak on a Sunday and just go for a nice spin. I know some people may fear the water, but on a nice calm day, stay close to the shore, have your lifejacket on, and you’re away. The chance to explore the lakes and waterways – there’s nothing to beat it.”
During the challenge, Bressie and Ray will cover 40 to 50km a day. They will finish at St John’s Castle in Limerick City to avoid the busy Shannon Estuary, because of tides and traffic.
The 'Why'
The funds raised by ‘The Rising’ will contribute to A Lust for Life’s schools mental health programmes. More than 1000 schools (a third of schools nationwide) have already registered, making the programme available to over 50,000 Irish primary school children. The programmes are free and the aim is to make them available to every child in primary school by the end of 2024.
The funds will also contribute to the development of a new A Lust for Life secondary schools programme starting with transition year students.
“I’ve got to the point of looking at mental health in Ireland and realising that our health system isn’t working, and in its current guise, is never going to work in terms of how it supports mental health.
“My belief and my study is focusing on how we create early intervention programmes, how we support children early to help them with the skills to navigate their mental health. And I think all the evidence points to early intervention.
“We want to start operating a more preventative model of care rather than a crisis model of care, which is what we currently have, and it’s a poor model of crisis care as well.
“Lust for Life is a small charity that’s punching well above its weight. We’re dynamic, and the key is that the programmes are delivered at no cost, so we have built the programme with the top professionals in the country, top psychologists, top education experts, steering committees, the ombudsman for children, UCD have evaluated it, DCU is evaluating it, it’s really high end stuff that I think has an international capacity. So in order to keep these programmes going and developing, we have to do these types of fundraisers.
“The good thing about Lust for Life is that because we’re small, all donations go directly into what we do. We don’t have massive costs, we don’t have big offices, it all goes into the programmes. I’m passionate about early intervention. I always apply it to my own life, how it would have been different if there had been early intervention programmes for me in school.”
The lead sponsor of the challenge is SignFit Branding, run by a Mullingar man.
“I can always rely on Mullingar support. Lakeland Kayaks are providing all the gear for this, so it’s been amazing that they’ve come on board, because we need sponsorship. That’s why we’re doing this is to create fundraising, that’s at the core of what we’re doing.”
He added that if there are documentary makers who would like to join the team, he’d love to document the journey.
To donate or to come on board as a sponsor, go to alustforlife.com/therising