The 50-60 Challenge

Welcome to the 50/60 Challenge! Hi everyone, Lets start off by giving a bit of background for our reason to do the 50/60 challenge and raise some well deserved money for a fantastic charity. Ricky Barrett a young lad who grew up in the rural area of West Cork only ever had one thing on his mind as a young farmer, ‘what’s to be done on the farm’. School was seen as a sidepiece and silage season was the main event. He grew up into a family of 2 loving parents and 5 probably overbearing but adoring, older sisters. Anyone who knew Ricky would know he was one of the hardest working teenagers there was, and was always looking for a way to hustle. His friends and family were incredibly important to him, as was his ‘Precious', tractor. If there was a tractor run to be heard of you can bet there was a spotless Fiat 70-90 somewhere in the line up!   Ricky’s childhood wasn’t like everyone else’s. Unfortunately, something all too common came knocking. On the 6th of May 2016 he was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma. At the ripe age of 10 he dug in for a battle...and won! He got the all clear just over a year later after several rounds of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. He then relapsed in November 2018. It was back, this time stronger than the last. Yet once again Ricky put on his gloves and prepared for round 2. Ricky was such a strong , determined, fighting young man and that’s exactly what he did...fought! In December 2019 he had to be switched from IV to oral chemotherapy . Although it felt like a step back it turned out to be his save and grace. This tablet was like a miracle. Slowly Ricky was getting his life back. This allowed him to spend more time on the family farm cutting several loads of silage, spending Summers driving his Fiat, spending time with his close knit group of friends, pimp out his Precious with a new set of tyres, see thousands of tractors being made at the New Holland factory , see the iconic vintage tractor collection of Michael Hoey, the stuff made of Ricky's dreams and spend time with the man, the myth , the legend that is Gareth Gault also known as Donkey from Grassmen. The oral drug truly did work wonders but at some stage or another it started to lose it’s effect and despite best efforts, the cancer began to grow. Amazingly, he never lost his determination and willingness to cling to life and all it offered him. Anyone who would ask him ‘how are you?’, the answer no matter how bad he felt would always be ‘delighted, this was the kind of boy Ricky was. He just wanted to get on with things and not be any trouble to anyone. Sadly on the afternoon of the 14th of October 2022 Ricky passed away at home surrounded by his beloved family. During his battle there were countless charities and selfless people who helped Ricky and his family on his journey, almost too many to mention. The teams involved in providing care to Ricky in his last few months really was above and beyond the call of duty. Ricky Barrett was the beloved brother of Henry’s girlfriend Aoife, he was a kind soul that touched the heart of anyone he ever met. Which is why Henry along with the help of his best friend Stephen decided to come up with a plan to raise vital funds for a charity that were a big help to the Barrett family as Ricky soldiered through his battle. The money raised will help out other families going through these daunting times of dealing with a child undergoing cancer treatment. Their idea to raise money is to do something crazy and unthinkable. Can you imagine walking 50 miles (which is almost double the distance of a regular marathon), seems like a daunting task but imagine doing this while also carrying 60 lbs on your back. That’s exactly what the lads plan to do on Saturday 29th of April. They will walk a distance of 50 miles while carrying a weight of 60 lbs on their backs, all in one day starting on Saturday and finishing in the afternoon on Sunday. Which is why this fundraiser is being called the 50/60 challenge, walking 50 miles with 60 pounds. The proceeds of this fundraiser will be going towards AOIBHEANNS PINK TIE. The Barretts have seen first hand how amazing and beneficial these services are. Unfortunately, there are thousands of families that have experiences like this. There is services out there to help them in such a turbulent time in their life, and they truly are a godsend. They deserve our support! Every little bit does help. You may not know it but your donation could be the reason the parent of a sick child has their first sound sleep in a week, or the reason a child with a PICC line got to swim in the water for the first time in months. The smallest of things really can make the biggest difference.Rest easy now Ricky, you will always be missed but never forgotten. -Henry and Stephen