This grandad walked the entire coast of Ireland on his own

What an inspiration.

Last year we told you about an Irish grandad who was about to embark on a solo walk around the entire coast of Ireland. With approximately 3,500 kilometres to cover, he was doing it to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society. After losing two close friends to cancer, Marty Holland decided to do something worthwhile with his time when he retired. Now, a year on, his walk is complete. He began in May 2016, took a break for the winter months, and crossed the finish line on the Flaggy Shore in Co. Clare on Sunday, June 18th. Marty walked 3,450km in total and spent 5 months away from home to complete the walk. To add an extra element, he was relying on the public for accommodation each night. He says this was one of the more challenging aspects.

"Because I was couch surfing, the challenge was not just the walking but also day by day sourcing accommodation. Many a day when I set out I didn't know where I would be sleeping that night. Thankfully, I met a lot of goodwill from strangers who took it upon themselves to support and look out for me as I walked and things always worked out. In over 5 months of walking, I wasn't stuck once."

Another challenge he faced was the fundraising. He approached businesses, shops, cafes and pubs to ask for donations, but after a day out walking this was often very difficult.

"After walking for 8 or 9 hours it was difficult to spend the next couple of hours in and out of places trying to cajole people into donating to a good cause, coming out with the same spiel over and over again and dealing with the occasional cold shoulder. Thankfully, the vast majority of people I encountered were appreciative of what I was doing."

To date, Marty has raised over €49,000 for The Irish Cancer Society and over £10,000 for Friends of the Cancer Centre in Northern Ireland; the vast majority of this on the road. He's still receiving donations online through Everydayhero and Justgiving. Throughout his walk, he documented the interesting sights he saw and people he met on his Facebook page, Coast For Cancer. He even managed to get a photo with Graham Norton while passing through West Cork. Marty would typically walk between 20 and 30 kilometres per day depending on the fundraising done en route, the walking conditions and whether or not he had blisters on his feet. On one occasion, out of Kinsale, he walked 46km, which is well over a marathon, and only a week before finishing he covered another marathon in Connemara from outside Carna to Casla. On reflection, Marty is delighted to have complete such a momentous journey.

"I'm delighted I did it. It was a wonderful once in a lifetime experience. I met great people, new friends and have been to wonderful parts of our beautiful country. I certainly don't have any of those 'never again' feelings about the walking. It was brilliant and I couldn't have done it without the wholehearted approval from my wife Noelle. She knew I needed to do something positive after losing my two friends Michael and John to cancer. She was behind me from the outset even though it made her life much tougher keeping everything going at home on her own. She was able to join me a few times on the walk which was lovely."

On his final day of the walk, Marty was joined by his family, friends and some of the people who put him up.

"For the final day, I was joined by all my family, Noelle, Alice & Stephen and grandson Cohen, Suzie and Myles, Laura and Cillian, by Michael and Johns' families and by friends. Some new friends from Rosslare, Caherciveen and North Mayo who had put me up on the journey also joined me. It was a memorable, uplifting blue-sky-day on The Flaggy Shore in County Clare."

If you want to donate to Marty's Coast For Cancer fund you can do so here.