Cork woman undertook the climb of her life for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland

A CORK woman who doesn’t even like climbing a step ladder to change a light bulb, made it to the top of Carrauntoohill against the odds to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.

And Mary Russell said it was her late sister-in-law’s spirit that helped her in the epic challenge that took her 10 hours.

Mary, originally from Skibbereen and living in Carrigaline, signed up for the charity climb with a group of her colleagues from Johnson Controls HQ on One Albert Quay, where she works as a Senior Information Developer.

The group of 35 were inspired to climb the country’s highest mountain by one of their colleagues, Priscilla Carroll, whose two children were born with Cystic Fibrosis.

Priscilla’s two-year-old son Lucas is battling the disorder while her daughter, Alice, tragically passed away within a few days of birth from the condition.

“I wasn’t into hill walking or mountain climbing at all, and climbing Carrauntohill wasn’t even on my bucket list, or anywhere on my radar,” said Mary Russell.

“But when the email from my colleague John Duggan came around, I thought it was an opportunity to give it a go, and for a really good cause,” she said.

Just one of the group had completed the climb previously.

We were doing it with Kerry Climbing Guides, who had sent out a training schedule in advance, but naively, and very optimistically, I thought that my walks in Currabinny woods would be a good basis for what lay ahead – it wasn’t!

The group departed at 7.30am on September 2 and, with their guides, headed off to walk to the base of Carrauntoohill at 10am. But by the time they arrived at The Devil’s Ladder at 11.45am, Mary could already feel her energy levels dipping.

“I was at the back of the group the whole way, and when the guide asked me how I was feeling, I had to admit that I wasn’t feeling great. It was only at that stage that the climbing was starting, so the guide advised me that for my safety, and the safety of the group, I should turn back,” she recalls.

Naturally, Mary was devastated.

I rang my husband John in floods of tears. I was really disappointed.

“Around noon, my colleagues started to climb while I sat on a rock, feeling sorry for myself. I even gave the rest of my water to two Japanese tourists who had run out of water at that point as I thought I’d have no need for it,” she added.

But what happened next was a moment of wonderful serendipity, that turned the day around entirely for Mary.

“Out of the blue, along came my friend James McIntosh from the Cork Geological Association (CGA), of which I’m a member. He had just turned up for the day to climb Carrauntoohil, having done it many times before. He said, when he saw me sitting on a rock, crying like The Little Mermaid, he couldn’t leave me behind. ‘C’mon, Mary,’ he said, ‘I’ll get you up The Devil’s Ladder’.

I felt better after my rest break, and after a small moment of hesitation, I knew I’d regret if it I didn’t give it another go!

Mary started slowly climbing with James, who guided her up the safest route and also showed her a mountain spring where she could refill her water bottles.

“It was a bit like a jigsaw puzzle, plotting our way up and it was very challenging in places. By 1.30pm, I crawled out the top of The Devil’s Ladder on my hands and knees… literally!

“After that, climbing the last 100m of stony slope with loose rock and scree to the top of Carrauntoohil was the toughest and slowest part of the whole climb. On that stretch, I met my group of colleagues on the way back down, and they gave me fist bumps and words of encouragement to continue. One of my colleagues said afterwards they should’ve been playing Kate Bush for me but I said that I wasn’t sure if “Plodding up that hill” has the same ring to it! Seeing me, they said, gave them as much of a boost as it gave me.”

But Mary was hit with another challenge: just five minutes from the top she suffered an excruciating cramp in her thigh.

“I could literally see the top, but the pain was incredible. Some climbers on the way down gave me two paracetamol and after a little rest I half crawled, half stumbled to the summit, where James, who had gone ahead, was waiting for me.

It was very emotional. I rang my husband again to tell him I actually made it to the top of the mountain, but he said he wasn’t that surprised after living with me for all these years!

Reaching the top was extra moving for Mary as it’s a special place for her family. “My brother proposed to my sister-in-law Ann O’Brien at the top of the mountain. They were both avid climbers. Tragically, she died nine years ago from MS and some of her ashes are scattered there.

“Every time I felt like giving up I thought of Ann. I remembered how hard she fought through her illness and and it was her spirit that carried me to the top”

Mary sounds like a determined person herself.

“I wouldn’t have thought so before the Covid lockdowns, but that gave me a different perspective on life, to grab challenges when you can and see things through. Somehow, that day I found the resources I needed to tap into,” she said.

James and Mary started their descent just after 3pm.

“We actually met someone at the top of Carrauntoohil, who was climbing on his own, so he headed down with us. His knees really started to bother him on the descent so I helped him with additional water and support. I wanted to ‘pay it forward’.”

They made it back to Cronin’s Yard just before 8pm, so almost a 10 hour challenge, in total. Travelling back with James, Mary arrived in Cork just after 10.30pm.

“John collected me, and it was straight home for an Epsom salts bath, a dose of electrolytes to help recovery and then I slept for 10 hours!”

Meeting James in her moment of need was a lucky break, but Mary also had another good omen before she set off.

“The day before I was doing my shopping in a local supermarket and I was telling the cashier about the climb. I was walking out and a couple stopped me and asked if was part of the Johnson Controls group and I said I was. It turned out to be Priscilla, her husband and son – the people we were fundraising for. 

I had never met her in my life as she works in a different team, so I took that as a good omen for the climb, and that also spurred me on.

Reflecting on the climb, she said she found strength she never knew she had, but she stresses that it was a group effort as everyone faced their own challenges.

Will she take on another mountain?

“At the time I said ‘never again’, but now I’m not so sure. I started out climbing the country’s highest mountain, so I might work backwards and try something less daunting!”

She hopes her achievement will inspire someone else to give something a go.

“That’s what life is all about – you can surprise yourself when you step out of your comfort zone. There’s a quote by Winston Churchill in the car park of our building that reads ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.’ I never fully appreciated those words until I climbed Carrauntoohil, but now, I’m thankful that I had the tenacity and force of will to continue. That, and the sheer stubbornness of a woman!”

The Johnson Controls workers  presented a cheque this week for $15,429 to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland this week.

For more on Cystic Fibrosis Ireland see https://www.cfireland.ie/