NOT all superheroes wear capes… as was evident when a seven year old boy crossed the finish line on his fundraising walk over the weekend.

Bodhi Good walked 5km on the Crosshaven walkway, on Saturday, dressed up as Iron Man. The seven year old, who is autistic, is helping his mum Lenore fundraise money ahead of her Kilimanjaro climb in August.

To-date she has raised €62,000 for three charities - Shine Centre for Autism, Sonas Special School and the Irish Guide Dogs for the blind.

In early May Lenore decided to try and help three more charities - including Marymount, as it is a cause very close to her heart.

She had also asked Barry Coughlan’s family, parents Jim and Marie and sister Donna to nominate a beneficiary in his honour. Barry had been missing for over 17 years. His family chose Mallow Search and Recovery and Cork City Missing Persons Search and Recovery.

Lenore met with the CCMPSR to discuss the fundraiser and they spoke of Barry’s case. In a strange twist of fate, the very next day, volunteer divers from the group decided they would perform a training exercise in and around Camden Fort and Hugh Coveney Pier testing a new piece of sonar equipment called "Starfish" and were astounded to find Barry’s car. In recent days it was confirmed that skeletal remains found in the vehicle were Barry. He was laid to rest by his family in a private ceremony.

Members of the CCMPSR came to support Bodhi’s fundraising efforts on Saturday, providing a guard of honour at the finish line, along with family and friends.

The group relies heavily on fundraising. The piece of equipment they used which detected Barry’s car cost 10,000 euro - only 3,000 of which was provided for through grant.

Lenore said the discovery of Barry after all these years, shows how important their work is. She said: “There are hundreds more family’s just like Barry’s who are out there, not knowing where their loved ones are.” She called on people to support them in a bid to give these volunteers funding to continue to do the amazing work.

“This team stood on that pier for 48 hours until Barry's car was retrieved from the water, the commitment to providing care in their recovery is paramount to these volunteers on behalf of the families, as they each know what it feels like to be on the other end of that search. They never leave a scene unattended once they make a discovery, they feel a duty to the missing to keep them company after being on their own for so long.”

 The amazing work by these volunteers was also praised by Barry’s sister Donna who said: “The family want to thank CCMPSR and emphasise how amazing they are and how important funding is for them because without them we wouldn’t have found Barry.” 

Lenore is very proud of her son Bodhi, who had been promised Curly Wurlys and Kinder Eggs at the finish line, which Barry’s sister Donna had bought in bulk, as she was so touched by his gesture.

Next month Lenore is doing 100k in a day on July 3, 50 of which she will be doing herself and the other 50 people will fall in with her. She is hoping to also do something to commemorate the many other missing people in Ireland, on the day. Lenore runs her hugely popular social media page, Out in the Sticks with Six.

“I will be starting at 8am and aim to finish just after 7pm including breaks after each 10k throughout the day. It is my last fundraiser before Kilimanjaro in August.” In her latest fundraising drive to-date, for CCMPSR, Mallow Search and Rescue and Marymount she has raised €10,000.

To donate see www.ifundraise.ie/10KforKilimanJ