Two lifelong friends from County Armagh are expected to complete a gruelling 1,000km-plus charity walk in Blackwatertown on Wednesday, August 12, bringing their ‘Home from Home’ challenge to an emotional finish.
Eamonn Donnelly and John Gribbin are due to arrive between 1.30pm and 2pm, when family and friends will gather in the centre of Blackwatertown to welcome them home. Residents are also being encouraged to come out and show their support.
Final stop at St Jarlath’s Primary School
The official finish line will be outside St Jarlath’s Primary School, 89 Charlemont Road, Blackwatertown, County Armagh, BT71 7HH. The school was John’s former primary school and is close to his family home in the town.
John, aged 60, is originally from Blackwatertown but now lives in Essex. Eamonn, aged 59, is from Keady and now lives in Graz, Austria. The pair set off from John’s current home in Essex on July 4, beginning a journey that has taken them across public footpaths and rights of way.
The walk is being completed without outside support. For almost 40 days, the men have carried backpacks and tents as they travelled from Radwinter in Essex towards Armagh.
Walking for two charities
The challenge is raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Cancer Fund for Children. The charities are especially important to the two men because both provided support to close family members in the past.
The route has taken the walkers through difficult conditions. They faced the recent heatwave in England, heavy rain in Scotland and repeated blisters on their feet. One of the men also spent a day in hospital receiving treatment through a fluid drip after becoming dehydrated during the walk.
Despite those setbacks, the pair continued towards Blackwatertown, where the final homecoming celebration will mark the end of their journey.
A second epic walk for Eamonn
This is not Eamonn’s first long-distance fundraising challenge. In 2017, he walked from his then home in Austria to Armagh, covering well over 2,500km.
That earlier walk raised money for dementia research and was held in memory of his mother, who had died from dementia a couple of years previously.
The men’s progress has been shared through the ‘Home from Home’ Instagram and Facebook accounts. Supporters can follow the journey there as Eamonn and John make their final approach to Blackwatertown.
The welcome home event at St Jarlath’s Primary School is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, with the walkers expected between 1.30pm and 2pm.