Press Release 25th April 2013

To The End of the Earth for Ronnie. Wicklow man runs entire length of Camino in memory of his Mum.

A Wicklow man is commencing a 908km run the entire length of the de Compostela today (Thursday) in memory of his mother Ronnie Fehily, who died as a result of a brain tumour last year. The mammoth distance means the run is equivalent to 22 marathons in three weeks.

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Niall Roche (31), from Dunlavin Co. Wicklow, lost his mother to a Grade 4 Brain Tumour (GBM) in early 2012. He and his family subsequently set up Brain Tumour , the first nationwide organisation dedicated to brain tumours in Ireland.

Niall is embarking on this epic challenge to honour his mother's memory, and to raise awareness, both of the incidence of brain tumours and the work of Brain Tumour Ireland.

Niall will run the entire length of the Camino, starting in St Jean Pied de Port today, passing through the customary Camino end point of and reaching his own personal finish line in Finisterre (which means end of the earth) sometime in the third week of May. This is the equivalent of running 22 marathons in three weeks.

Speaking in St Jean Pied de Port this morning before beginning the run, Niall said,

"I had always thought I would take Mom on a holiday just to say thanks for everything she had done for me over the years. Since I'm not really much of a shopper or a spa weekend kind of guy I thought a few days walking the Camino in might be something we would both enjoy and would be a good way to spend some time together; walking and chatting. But you always think you have all the time in the world and as too often happens life got in the way, the holiday never happened and time unfortunately ran out for Mom.

"So in tribute to Mom's strength and determined spirit, and with the hopes of raising awareness and funds for Brain Tumour Ireland, I have decided to run all 908km of the Camino past Santiago to the coast. My final destination Finisterre, means end of the earth- and so I have called the challenge “To the End of the Earth for Ronnie and Brain Tumour Ireland”.

Niall, who will turn 32 during the challenge, will maintain a blog page to keep supporters at home in Ireland up to date with his progress. The blog can be accessed here.

Anyone wishing to support the challenge by donating to Brain Tumour Ireland can do so at Niall's My Charity Page.

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All Media Queries/ Interview Requests to:

Cliona Doyle [email protected] 087-4116081

Notes to Editors

 Brain Tumour Ireland was set up during International Brain Tumour Awareness Week in November 2012.

 The charity was established in memory of Ronnie Fehily an otherwise healthy 62 year old, who was diagnosed with a Grade 4 Brain Tumour (GBM) and sadly passed away after a short illness in January 2012.

 The goals of the charity are:

1. To raise awareness of brain tumours in Ireland (approx. 400 cases a year).

2. To provide information and support to brain tumour patients and their families. 3. To fundraise for medical research on brain tumours. (This is currently very underdeveloped in Ireland. 2011 figures show that only 2% of cancer funding from the Irish Health Research Board went into brain tumour research).

 Niall Roche's challenge "To the End of the Earth for Ronnie and Brain Tumour Ireland" will see him run the entire length of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. The challenge commences on Thursday 24th April in St Jean Pied de Port and will last approximately three weeks, finishing in Cape Finisterre some time in the third week of May. Niall aims to run an average of 50km per day throughout the challenge.

 May 2013 is European Month of the Brain and Ireland is hosting an international conference "Healthy Brain Healthy Europe" on 27th May as part of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.