A senior player for Bundoran’s Realt Na Mara GAA club is set to take part in the longest Gaelic football match ever to be played, for 24 hours, from Saturday, January 7, to Sunday, January 8, in Garvaghey, County Tyrone.
Bundoran’s Diarmuid McCaughey who normally plays in the right-corner-back position with the Division One sea-side team is the only Donegal man to sign up for the challenge which is a fundraiser for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland and the Michaela Foundation.
Speaking on his decision to take part, Diarmuid said: “Michaela’s dad Mickey Harte has been such a huge inspiration to me while I’ve been playing Gaelic football and when the opportunity came to sign up for the challenge and to raise money for these amazing charities, I jumped at it.”
42 players will come together from all over Ireland to take part in the world record attempt, including players from Kerry, Louth, Kildare and Dublin. The match will take place at the Garvaghey Centre of Excellence in Omagh, starting at 11am on Saturday and continuing for 24 hours. The youngest player is 18 and the oldest is 50.
Diarmuid adds: “It’s going to be a great start to 2017 but a great challenge too. I’m more used to playing for 60 minutes than 24 hours! I’ve been training for a few months now and I’m confident that I can see it through to the end.”
Each player will have to raise funds in order to take part and Diarmuid’s efforts can be supported by donating here – https://marathonmatch.everydayhero.com/uk/gaa-marathon-match-for-cancer-focus-ni
