A 260-MILE charity trek across Ireland raising money to build a holiday resort for children with special needs will be crossing the border today.
Dublin actress Fiona O’Carroll – best known for playing Maria in Mrs Brown's Boys – is leading the walk from Cork to Belfast, which began on August 11.
The gruelling journey has seen the actress, who is also the daughter of Mrs Brown star Brendan O’Carroll, walk around 20 miles each day and will finish in Belfast on Wednesday.
In addition to donations and bucket collecting, Ms O’Carroll will be donating €1 for every beep she gets along the way to raise funds for the charity Billy’s World.
Billy’s World aims to raise a total of €1.8 million to build a sensory holiday for children with special needs at The Heritage Hotel in Killenard, Co Laois.
The charity was set up by Irish couple Tony and Cora Byrne, whose son Billy was diagnosed Pallister Killian Syndrome, a rare developmental disorder, when he was 13-months-old in 2008.
Speaking to The Irish News, Ms O'Carroll said the challenge of the walk is overshadowed by the cause it is in aid of.
"The support has been great, along the way we have heard from many families who have special needs children about their own struggles," she said.
"For me, that has reaffirmed the need for Billy's World and just what it would mean to so many people."
Donations for Billy's World can be made at https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/the-fiona-o-carroll-charity-walk
