‘When my son told me about Fittest Family, I was horrified’

Like many other households, the Walshs have always enjoyed watching RTÉ’s Ireland’s Fittest Family together.

“We love talking about what we’d do in the different situations, if we’d do anything differently, and what our strategies would be,” said mum-of-three Amy.

That’s all from the comfort of their couch in their West Cork home, though, and never in a million years did Amy think she’d be taking part herself along with her GAA-mad sons Michael, 22, Aidan, 21 and Alphie, 19.

“One evening last May, my eldest son Michael asked if I’d like to go for a meal to Athlone the following day … and then he dropped the bombshell that we’d be going for a fitness test to try out for Ireland’s Fittest Family first of all. I was horrified,” remembers physiotherapist, Amy.

“I had a choice though, and that was to say a flat ‘no’; or to opt for plan B and go along with it and take my revenge against them and publicly humiliate them,” she laughs.

“More seriously, as my children are growing up, I figured this was a real privilege, that they wanted to do this with me – even if it really was out of my comfort zone.”

Amy and the lads, who play hurling for Barryroe and football for Ibane, got through the fitness test with relative ease. The boys go to the gym even on Christmas Day, so that wasn’t surprising.

“But I actually surprised myself and the lads surprised me in how supportive they were and how they all worked together,” said 50-year-old Amy.

However, when it came to the actual competition, she admits that it was “pretty intimidating”.

The three lads were thrilled to be assigned Dublin GAA legend Michael Darragh MacAuley as their coach – even if Amy admitted she’d never heard of him.

“I think it helped actually as I had no pre-conceived ideas about him at all,” she said.

The course – which has changed this year – was very tough, said Amy.

“I’d jokingly describe myself as a ‘menopausal sloth’, and here I was going on national TV, almost crying and vomiting with the effort, cursing at my children, just trying to get through it.

“I didn’t even register the cameras being there most of the time as I was so focused on what I was doing.”

The family escaped elimination by a one-second margin in the first episode, which aired on Sunday night, and viewers will have to wait to see how they get in future shows.

“But it wasn’t really about the result as such, well, not for me,” said Amy, who works as a cancer rehabilitation physiotherapist with Cork ARC Cancer Support House in both Cork city and Bantry.

She said the experience was like capturing “a moment in time”.

“It was like myself and the boys against the world, sort of magical. We were like a really solid unit. It was also really interesting to see adult traits in the children, their leadership, their drive, determination, and willingness to complete a task.”

But this wasn’t the first time the family has had to show leadership skills. Their quick thinking and cool-headedness led to the rescue of a swimmer who was trapped in a sinkhole at their local beach, Dunworley, in 2021.

Amy and then 17-year-old Michael were walking on the beach when they noticed a towel on the ground near the sinkhole. With nobody else about, it occurred to them that there may be someone down there. When they shouted down, they got a reply of ‘help’. Immediately, Amy rang the emergency services and Michael got buoyancy aid, dropped it down the sinkhole, and the swimmer caught the end. He and Amy helped her stay calm as the full tide approached – until emergency services arrived. They were later honoured for their bravery by Water Safety Ireland and the SEIKO Just In Time Awards.

Ireland’s Fittest Family, Amy also admitted, was a bit of a personal wake-up call.

“I would have been very fit say 15 years ago but I really let that baseline slide. It happensto a lot of women who are busy working, bringing children to matches, drop-offs, and all that, that we forgo our own fitness because we simply don’t have the time.

“But this was a reminder to me of how much I love being active. It’s important that parents try not to sacrifice their fitness – a study showed that kids with two active parents were nearly six times more likely to be active, compared to parents of inactive children. My take home from the whole experience is that as women, we tend to give away our best energy and keep the scraps for ourselves, which is something to be mindful of,” she said.

Amy is a huge advocate for sustainable movement within the community. She’s the founder of Ladies Who Launch, a kayaking group for women who have experienced, or are living with, cancer, now run independently by the participants with the support of Kinsale Outdoor Education Centre.

She’s also a qualified pilates instructor, volunteers with West Cork Special Olympic Kayaking Club, and has also recently completed a masters in outdoor education.

“It’s all about movement for me – it doesn’t have to be about winning medals,” she said.

With the new series of Fittest Family already enthralling households around the country, Amy would wholeheartedly encourage other families to give it a go.

“Obviously, some families will be obvious candidates for something like this, but others, like us, should definitely think about giving it a go. You’d be surprised what you can do if you support each other as a family.”