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Connacht Rugby is delighted to support a true stalwart of the club game in the province - Fergus ‘Gussie’ Farrell - as he undertakes the challenge of a lifetime.
Fergus represented Connacht at U18, U19 & U20 level and was also capped for the Irish Youths at U18 level. Fergus later went on to play for the Connacht Juniors on multiple occasions and is perhaps best known throughout the province for his time representing both Monivea RFC and Galwegians RFC on the field.
Less than 12 months ago Fergus suffered an extremely serious injury when moving heavy equipment in his yard. Fergus was diagnosed as having ruptured three spinal discs with one of these discs leaking on to his spinal cord and almost shredding it entirely. These injuries left Fergus without the use of his legs and feet and despite surgery in the National Spinal Unit in the Mater Hospital the initial hope of ever walking again was extremely low. However, Fergus with the support of family and friends never lost hope and refused to accept that as his new reality. After 21 days Fergus regained some movement in his toes and despite countless difficult and dark days, he hasn’t looked back since.
Now as we approach the one-year anniversary of the accident, Gussie is on the verge of a remarkable challenge to raise much needed funds for those who have helped him to reach this point. On the 22nd of October 2019 Fergus will begin a walk from his yard in Athenry where the accident occurred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Dublin, concluding the journey on Saturday 26th of October. The journey will be 206 kilometres in total broken down across 5 days. The destination is of course a symbolic one; the NRH and all the staff at that hospital were central to the recovery Fergus has made to this point. The funds raised will be used in two key areas - firstly to buy new equipment for the NRH to help others suffering from similar injuries, and secondly to help those struggling mentally with the strains that such injuries can inflict on an individual.
Connacht Rugby is now calling on the entire rugby family and beyond to get behind this incredible cause and support Fergus and his team in any way they can. Below is a list of ways individuals, clubs, schools and businesses can donate to the cause.
Sell a card | Each card aims to raise €206 representing the 206km journey
Sponsor a km | Businesses can sponsor each kilometre of the journey. 1km can sponsored for €206
Direct Donation | People can donate directly to the charity by visiting Fergus’ Everydayhero page
Banquet Dinner | A banquet dinner will take place in Dublin after the final stage of the challenge. People will have the opportunity to buy a ticket for this event or to fill an entire table at the dinner. Further details of this element of the fundraiser will be released in due course.
Anyone interested in selling a card or sponsoring a kilometre can contact toughesttrek@gmail.com for details.
To donate via the Everydayhero page people should visit https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/the-toughest-trek
If anyone has any other ideas or feels they can lend support to the challenge in different ways, they can send a mail to toughesttrek@gmail.com or contact Fergus on 087 6874594.
Fergus represented Connacht at U18, U19 & U20 level and was also capped for the Irish Youths at U18 level. Fergus later went on to play for the Connacht Juniors on multiple occasions and is perhaps best known throughout the province for his time representing both Monivea RFC and Galwegians RFC on the field.
Less than 12 months ago Fergus suffered an extremely serious injury when moving heavy equipment in his yard. Fergus was diagnosed as having ruptured three spinal discs with one of these discs leaking on to his spinal cord and almost shredding it entirely. These injuries left Fergus without the use of his legs and feet and despite surgery in the National Spinal Unit in the Mater Hospital the initial hope of ever walking again was extremely low. However, Fergus with the support of family and friends never lost hope and refused to accept that as his new reality. After 21 days Fergus regained some movement in his toes and despite countless difficult and dark days, he hasn’t looked back since.
Now as we approach the one-year anniversary of the accident, Gussie is on the verge of a remarkable challenge to raise much needed funds for those who have helped him to reach this point. On the 22nd of October 2019 Fergus will begin a walk from his yard in Athenry where the accident occurred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Dublin, concluding the journey on Saturday 26th of October. The journey will be 206 kilometres in total broken down across 5 days. The destination is of course a symbolic one; the NRH and all the staff at that hospital were central to the recovery Fergus has made to this point. The funds raised will be used in two key areas - firstly to buy new equipment for the NRH to help others suffering from similar injuries, and secondly to help those struggling mentally with the strains that such injuries can inflict on an individual.
Connacht Rugby is now calling on the entire rugby family and beyond to get behind this incredible cause and support Fergus and his team in any way they can. Below is a list of ways individuals, clubs, schools and businesses can donate to the cause.
Sell a card | Each card aims to raise €206 representing the 206km journey
Sponsor a km | Businesses can sponsor each kilometre of the journey. 1km can sponsored for €206
Direct Donation | People can donate directly to the charity by visiting Fergus’ Everydayhero page
Banquet Dinner | A banquet dinner will take place in Dublin after the final stage of the challenge. People will have the opportunity to buy a ticket for this event or to fill an entire table at the dinner. Further details of this element of the fundraiser will be released in due course.
Anyone interested in selling a card or sponsoring a kilometre can contact toughesttrek@gmail.com for details.
To donate via the Everydayhero page people should visit https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/the-toughest-trek
If anyone has any other ideas or feels they can lend support to the challenge in different ways, they can send a mail to toughesttrek@gmail.com or contact Fergus on 087 6874594.
