Seamus Groogan and Odhran Madden, both 24, have raised over £15,000 for mental health charities by walking more than 200 miles from Manchester to Glasgow. The pair completed their 230-mile journey from the Etihad Stadium to Celtic Park on June 16, walking the equivalent of over a marathon a day for nine consecutive days.
Fundraising for Mental Health
Originally hoping to raise £5,000 for S.T.E.P.S. and Beacon Counselling Trust, which have helped the Irish-born friends with depression and gambling struggles, the duo exceeded their target through fundraising nights, cash donations, and a GoFundMe page. The page is due to close on Sunday.
Odhran, who believes football is crucial for men's mental health, said: "Knowing that we were doing it for a good cause definitely pushed us on. The lives this money will save is unbelievable. The reason we were doing this is to try and get men to speak out more and football is such a massive thing for men. That's the reason why we've done this. We hope that it will allow men to see that it's okay to not be okay and to speak out."
Challenges Along the Way
The walk was tougher than expected, with some days featuring roads without footpaths. Odhran noted: "Some of the days we had roads that had no foot paths and were a bit dangerous, so there were times when we decided to take one of the so-called safer routes but it could add on an extra five miles to the walk, so it was mental."
Seamus, who now lives in Manchester, said quitting was not an option because of the impact the money would have. He explained: "Quitting wasn't an option so we were just going to try and find a way through the tough times. It was like doing nine marathons in nine days on average. Throughout the walk it was getting more publicity and more people were engaging with us. A lot more people were commenting and texting us and that kept driving us on."
Support and Impact
The pair documented their journey on TikTok and Facebook, gaining increasing support. Seamus added: "The money kept coming and coming in and when you see that it drives you on as much as possible. The more money that comes in the more it helps the charities, that's all it is. We can go out and walk to Glasgow and not raise a single penny and it would all be for nothing. So having that support from everyone it was brilliant and that kept driving us."
Upon arrival at Celtic Park, the duo received a warm welcome from the club, including a tour of the stadium and a view of the two trophies won last season. The charities expressed their gratitude, with Seamus noting: "These two charities run off of money like this. We've been in contact with the two charities and they're absolutely over the moon. They told us how much that money would go to saving people."
