Scaling the heights for Gaza’s war-torn children
It is difficult to consciously process the horror of what is happening in Gaza. The rubble-strewn, apocalyptic landscape that now comprises the 2km strip seems like something out of a dystopian novel. Before long you almost become inured to the mass starvation, the inhuman suffering, the climbing death toll. And looking on from afar, you can feel helpless.
But there are ways to help, creative ones too. On September 20, Ken McDonald will carry a 26kg rowing machine up Carrauntoohil before completing a full 42km marathon on the summit. It’s the kind of physical ordeal that would make you wince, but he’s doing it in aid of UNICEF, to raise crucial funds for the children of Gaza. A tortuous trek, but a worthy one, nonetheless.
The Templemore Garda College instructor - who lives with his family in Moneygall - grew up on in Limerick but from the age of 14 spent more time whisking rowing boats down the River Shannon. He’s a former Irish national champion, a world champion, and an all-round rowing fanatic.
In around seven days’ time he’ll travel to Banyoles in Spain for the annual World Masters Regatta. But that isn’t really what’s occupying his mind right now. Like many, he’s deeply distressed by the images emanating out of Gaza. He has two young kids, Mia and Clark, and he has found the sight of bereaved and malnourished children almost unbearable. So, he’s decided to do something.
“I wanted to do something that would capture the imagination, so I said I would carry a rowing machine up Carrauntoohil. I did something similar before, back in 2020, in aid of Make a Wish. We actually ended up raising €42,000,” he revealed.
It isn’t quite a reprise of his last effort though. It’s a step up. This time, Ken will row a full 42km atop the summit, 22km further than his last endeavour. He’ll have a support team with him, who will trek up the Devil’s Ladder and be on stand-by should he need attention. But he’s confident that his body is capable of withstanding the feat.
“The template has been there since the original fundraiser, so that’s a help. I know what I’m doing. You can’t really prepare for something like this, but you can train, and I train all the time, constantly,” he added.
Classic characteristic
That relentless attitude towards training is a classic characteristic of rowers. That grá to get out on the open water and just row. But Ken is a specialist whatever the setting. He set a new Irish indoor record in January in the Men’s Open Lightweight in UL. Next week he’ll be ploughing through the natural waters of Lake Banyola in Catalonia. And the week after that it’ll be Carrauntoohill - arguably the most important row of his life.
Soft-spoken and thoughtful, Ken is hesitant to get too political, but he does feel that Ireland, as a nation, is on the right side of history when it comes to the Gaza situation.
“History will reflect well on the Irish government, and the Irish people, when all this is over. I think we’ve been very vocal, particularly our president, in terms of calling out what’s been going on in Gaza, from the start.”
The chilling images of starving children and the recent declaration of famine in Gaza City by a UN-backed food security agency sparked a chorus of international condemnation, which was amplified last week in the wake of the deaths of twenty more civilians - including five journalists - following a double-tap strike by the Israeli military on a hospital in southern Gaza. Still, progress on a ceasefire agreement has been limited, with US President Donald Trump widely regarded as the only person capable of exerting influence over Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and demanding an end to the war.
Ken admits that the level of international inaction is wholly dispiriting, but his objective is to contribute to the brave humanitarian effort that aid organisations are carrying out on the ground in Gaza. Charities such as UNICEF, which deliver vital aid through the few open humanitarian corridors left in Gaza, are really the “only way in which ordinary people can help.” He chose to focus his fundraiser on children not just because of his own two kids at home, but because children are the ones most affected by this war. According to UNICEF data, 24 children have died on average each day since this conflict started in October 2023. That amounts to almost 20,000 of the 62,000-plus total, which scholars and analysts generally believe to be an underestimate. The grim statistics don’t stop there, but you get the point - children are the ones suffering most.
Support from Moneygall community
On a more upbeat note, the support he has received from the public, particularly the community in his home village of Moneygall, has been heartening. It shows the degree to which people care, he says, the degree to which people are moved by the situation.
He speaks effusively of Moneygall itself, recalling how much the place has changed over the past few decades. Fears that the introduction of the motorway would render the village a ghost-town, while certainly valid at the time, have proven misplaced. Between presidential visits and presidential plazas and newly refurbished amenities, the little dwelling on the Tipperary/Offaly border is thriving.
“It was a huge change, with the motorway coming in and all that. But it’s a lovely village. Obviously, we have the Obama Plaza, but we also have two GAA pitches now, we have a full-size soccer pitch, an astroturf, a playground, a coffee shop, a community gym - everything that you would want.”
It’s a far cry from the ruined streetscapes of Gaza City or Khan Younis or any of the settlements that we’ve become familiar with over the past 22 months. But that’s really the reason Ken is doing what he is doing. To alleviate the suffering of the children of Gaza and keep alive the hope of a better tomorrow, a better future. Who wouldn’t wish him well.
How to donate
You can support Ken by making a donation to UNICEF via his idonate page: www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/KennethMcdonald12?