Gruelling hell day event raises €20,000 for Suzanne House

OVER €20,000 was raised for Suzanne House, a community children’s respite service located in the heart of Tallaght, at a gruelling Hell Day event in Causey Farm, Meath, on Saturday.

A total of 50 teams competed in the event led by ‘Ultimate Hell Week’ drill sergeant and former Irish Army Ranger Ray Goggins.

Among the groups battling the sweltering heat and the taxing physical challenges that Hell Day presented were a trio of soldiers who were in full uniform for the entire event.

Aoife Duffy (24) from Foxborough in Lucan, Darren Brown (21) from Old Bawn in Tallaght and Cian Barnes (23) from Wexford are all in the 7th Battalion at Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines.

Explaining the rationale behind the team wearing their uniforms for Hell Day, Aoife said: “When we were told about Hell Day it was kind of a given that we would wear our uniforms.

“It’s never a bad thing to advertise that our unit wanted to take part, and wearing the uniform almost made you want to go further and do better.

“Being in the uniform puts you in a different mindset.”

Aoife, Cian and Darren at the end of Hell Day fundraiser for Suzanne House

This also attracted the attention of Ray Goggins, who thanked the group for taking part and representing their unit.

Darren Brown, who is a past pupil of Old Bawn Community School, added: “It was brilliant.

“He’s a man who is so well-known for everything he’s gone through, so it was good to get that recognition.”

All of the teams gave a strong showing on the day and completed the course with the same aim – to raise funds for Suzanne House.

Roisin McGarry from Suzanne House told The Echo that Hell Day was the most successful fundraiser the service has ever held and commended the positive atmosphere on the day.

“It was amazing,” she said. “There was such a good atmosphere, and everyone was up for the challenge.

“It was tough and it was challenging, but everyone was really happy.”

The team going through the waters for Suzanne House during Ultimate Hell Week

At the end of the event, Ray Goggins was presented with a painting made with the handprints of children from Suzanne House, to thank him for his ongoing support of the children’s respite service.

The funds raised on Hell Day will be used to repair a conservatory at Suzanne House which, at present, is unusable.

“It’s freezing in the winter, and boiling in the summer, so we can’t bring the kids into it,” explained Roisin.

The aim is to carry out repair works on it to fix the temperature issues, and then to transform it into a sensory cinema for the children.

Reflecting on the success of Hell Day, Roisin said: “We just want to thank people for coming and being so open to it – their generosity was unbelievable.”

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