In July of this year, one of Chanel's past pupils Scott Ward along with his friend, Derek O'Brien, made the epic journey from his home in Coolock to the Cliffs of Moher ON FOOT. Over five days, the pair trekked an average of 10 hours per day, covering an incredible 250km to raise funds for a cause close to their hearts, the Abacas Special School in Kilbarrack. Both of the lads have little cousins who attend the school and they wanted to do something to show gratitude and appreciation for the amazing work the staff do in the school.
Along the way, they won the hearts of the nation and created a media and social media storm, including interviews on the Ian Dempsey and Ray D'arcy shows and RTE News features. By the time they reached their destination, crowds had gathered to cheer them on.
It was an all the more impressive feat, considering the lads had no training at all. In an exclusive interview with our intrepid Chanel Reporter, Scott joked that the only training he got was the walk to and from Chanel over the 6 years and maybe that's what helped him survive.
The finally tally was an incredible €71,128.99, totally obliterating the €500 target they initially hoped for.
In a more reflective mood this September, when we asked Scott if he had any advice for our students in Chanel, he had the following to say...
After the walk I learned a lot and realised that anybody can do anything if you really want to. The whole time there were people saying we wouldn’t make it and that we should have trained or prepared more, but in the end we realised that it is all just a mental game. If you can get in the mindset of completing something or winning or achieving a goal with no doubts, I now believe that I myself could do anything, and for me to say that... is big, so if I feel like that, I am 100% sure that anybody can.
Truly inspiring words for all of us from an inspirational young man and we are all extremely proud of Scott, here in Chanel.