Mayo native who walked 2,200km asks you to ‘Save a Smile’ for children this Christmas

This Christmas the Children’s Health Foundation has launched the ‘Save a Smile’ campaign – an emotional reminder that this Christmas, some children won’t wake up at home, they’ll wake up in hospital. But with the support and generosity of supporters across the country, they won’t miss out on the magic.

“Crumlin Children’s Hospital will always hold a special and emotional place in my life and that of my family,” says Cathal Kelly.

Cathal, who is based in Swinford, undertook an extraordinary fundraising challenge in 2024, walking from Canterbury in England to Rome along the Via Francigena, a journey that took close to four months. The walk was self-funded and all monies raised were split equally between two charities: Children’s Health Foundation and Parkinson’s Ireland, Mayo branch.

The idea for such a demanding journey followed a period of change in Cathal’s life. After selling a business in July 2022, he went in search of something that would allow him to clear his head and reset.

“A few weeks later, I was looking for something to just clear the mind and do something,” he says. He decided to walk the Camino Francés, travelling from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago over five weeks. “I wouldn’t have been a walker, I’ll be honest,” he adds, “but it introduced me to that world, that environment; that these walks were out there.”

What Cathal found most powerful about walking was the solitude it allowed. “You can chat to people if you want to, you can be on your own if you want to,” he says. “I got just that solitude of walking.” When he returned home, the idea of doing something bigger stayed with him. “The seed was planted,” he explains, adding that he began looking for “that opportunity that I could do something big for a huge purpose.”

The notion of walking from Canterbury to Rome initially felt unfeasible. “You Google it and you’re looking at that from Canterbury to Rome, and you go, not a chance, no way,” Cathal recalls. But the idea persisted and he subsequently decided to take on the route of 2,200 kilometres, travelling through the five countries of England, France, Switzerland, Italy and ending in the Vatican over the course of four months in 2024.

“You realise that life isn’t going to wait for you to do it,” he says. “I was at an age where I could appreciate it and do it and test myself physically and mentally.”

Choosing Children’s Health Foundation as a beneficiary was deeply personal.

Cathal is a surviving twin. His twin sister Sarah died in 1978 at five months old, and the year before that, his older sister Alice died aged four. Both children were treated in Crumlin and both had Wilson disease, a rare disorder that causes liver damage.

“We grew up in a family where we always remembered the two girls, and the Crumlin hospital was always talked of so highly for the care and the love that the girls received,” he says.

He adds: “We’re all living one life, our day to day, but at this moment in time, there’s parents going in and out of Crumlin, hearing news, dealing with it. That’s life.”

Throughout the walk, Cathal says the support he received kept him going. “I used to get messages every day from people contributing all around the world,” he says. “The constant message I used to get was ‘keep going’.”

The fundraiser ultimately raised just under €75,000, far exceeding his expectations. “If you had asked me beforehand, I would have thought twelve to fifteen thousand if we pushed it really hard,” he says. “People were wonderful.”

Reflecting on the Save a Smile campaign, Cathal believes awareness is as vital as fundraising. “It’s obviously the financial aspect, which is important and huge,” he says. “But more importantly, it’s the awareness.”

He adds: “There’s hundreds and thousands of people availing of these services every day, every week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. We need to keep that awareness to the forefront of people’s minds.”

For Cathal, the walk was never just about reaching Rome. “If these services make that life one little bit easier, isn’t that worthwhile for everyone?” he says.

You can help Children’s Health Foundation ‘Save a Smile’ this Christmas, support the appeal today by visiting here, or text SAVEASMILE to 50300 to donate €4. (Text costs €4, Children’s Health Foundation will receive a minimum of €3.40. Service Provider: Fundraising Solutions. Helpline 01 2022810).