BALLYEA’s Jonathon Hickey has raised €7,200 for charity after undertaking a remarkable 750km cycle.
Across July and August, Jonathon cycled from Co Clare all the way to St James’ Park, the home ground of his beloved Newcastle Utd.
His inspiration along the way were Féileacáin, which provides support to families affected by baby loss, and Grow Mental Health, both of whom will benefit from the funds he has brought in. “In the current climate everyone’s health is suffering a small bit mentally, so I obviously have lost individuals through mental health and then my cousin passed away as well so that’s why I set off from her graveside in Shannon”.
He founded JH Fitness in 2016, through his work as a personal trainer and coach, Jonathon has had clients who have been open in their conversations about the struggles in trying to start a family. “The inspiration then really and truly is that I’ll never truly understand what either individual is going through whether it’s on the bereaved side component or the mental health side/component so that’s the driving force then behind why I’ve done it so I can understand the challenges potentially that they go through so that when I’m out there for the 750 kilometres”.
To prepare for the endurance event, he cycled 90 to 120km every Saturday while he did an hour to seventy minutes daily on a spinning bike at home in Ballyea. “I’m not doing it just for myself but for the individuals that are impacted by these two charities”.
Day one saw him cycle 200km from Shannon to Kinnegad before stopping in Ballinsaloe, starting in Dublin Port the following morning when he moved across the water and familiarised himself with the UK route, St James’ Park was the finish point on Saturday August 8th. “There’s three significant points along the route. The first one being where I’ll set off from being my cousin’s graveside (Laura Power) and the second one being a friend (Darren Price) that I lost in a car accident many years ago when I was 18, I’m now 38. I’ll stop at his graveside and then the day after, the second cycle, I’ll stop at another individual’s (Peter Gillane) graveside who did significantly impact my life in terms of introducing me to Oasis and stuff like that where people would’ve cried out for tickets when they played in Croke Park last year. From there on then there’s no other points of significance until I get to St. James Park. The reason why we’ve chosen St James Park is as a lifelong Newcastle fan through the turmoil, the ups and downs and all of that, that’s the reason why. It’s like a home away from home, I bring the kids over there when we can, two, three, four times a year”.
Living in Ballyea for five years, Jonathon’s wife Lisa hails from Kildysart, they moved there from Ennis with Jonathan first settling in Clare in 2018 before they got married after a previous stint in 2013 when he worked at Lahinch Leisure Centre. “I’m the blow-in, my wife is from Kildysart originally so wherever you go you’ll always be let know. I’m not a big hurling or GAA fan as such so I’ll keep an eye on it just for the topic of conversation as you’ll know when you’re in Clare and you’re not in the GAA scene you can be shunned upon. I’m a big round ball person, there’s a reason why I’m going to St. James Park and not Cusack Park in Ennis”. From Mullingar, he played in the U21 League of Ireland with his home club Mullingar Athletic.
Support for the cycle has stemmed from different sponsors such as GetSet Nutrition founded by Clonlara’s John Conlon and David Fitzgerald and his close circle including Lisa, their two children and his friends. “My wife has been a big support, my family members, people sharing it, people should get it out there and just share if they can’t donate because that’s going to be equally significant then to help along the journey. With Dave Keane, the guy who’s taken over the logistical side of it, he’s been a massive help because then I don’t have to worry. That’s relaying back to my wife then because she doesn’t have to worry about when I’m out there, I’ll be tracked so she’ll know at each particular point along the journey where I’ll be”.
Safe and secure spaces created can often lead to Jonathon’s clients discussing mental health with him frequently. “I’m not a psychologist. As one lady put it, who I coach, she said you’ve got the tools and the resources, potentially down to your work and what you do and your expertise and the length that you’ve been doing it for. Working with people, you’ll realise that no two people are the same, as we know, and that’s been the big thing. I’m learning from them as much as they’re learning from me because I can’t say for instance if I was to work alongside you coaching, obviously we know each other from past and previous endeavours, I couldn’t expect you to do what somebody else does and vice versa.
“It’s not just being maybe depressed or having anxiety, it can be the smallest of little things that can have an overarching effect on day to day life. Potentially, you’re carrying around a weight on your shoulders or the weight of the world, when you share a problem it’s a problem halved. It can be of massive significance in terms of making that little step, little progress as I said to more and more people if you be openly honest with me, then we can help. If I don’t feel it’s within my scope of practice, I’ll refer you. That’s the thing with feelings from a coaching perspective, we have that good backroom team as such that we can help people more and more so working with doctors, physios, osteos, working with mental health specialists and stuff like that, all of these. When you have that around you’re looking after the individual you’re not just looking after one section of it”.
Donations can still be made to Jonathon’s fundraiser online – DONATE HERE
