Cork man to run barefoot marathon to raise funds for charity

A Meelin native is running the Cork City Marathon barefoot as a fundraiser to kit out a birthing centre for women in a camp for internally displaced people in Somaliland in Africa.

Pat McMahon, who is the founding director of the Mothers First charity, will be running the marathon on Leeside on June 1 barefoot to raise €5,000 for a critical birthing clinic in Somaliland.

The money raised will go directly towards equipping a recently constructed facility with essential infrastructure, including two medical beds, a functional toilet, running water, solar panel installation, birthing kits, and one year’s salary for a local traditional midwife.

As Mr McMahon describes, one of the most urgent needs identified by the community itself is a safe place for women to give birth.

Currently, many mothers are forced to deliver their babies inside cramped and dark tents, putting both mother and child at serious risk.

Looking ahead to the Cork City Marathon on Sunday, Mr McMahon is excited for the challenge ahead of him, which he anticipates could be his toughest marathon to date.

“This is my fourth barefoot marathon. I did two Dublin City Marathons and one in Rome. Cork is not flat, and I think it is going to be the most difficult and it is going to be very tough.

“This year we are looking to raise the money to kit it out. But I am a proud Cork man. It is great to be able to do this in solidarity with others in Cork.”

He added: “There is a kind of sense that there is a greater push to do it and to complete it. Really the reason for that is the level of poverty and hunger, we can’t imagine it.

“All donations are very gratefully accepted no matter how small.”

For further information and for details regarding how to make a donation to the worthy cause Mr McMahon is running for, visit mothersfirstcharity.org/cork-marathon.