Celebrities and rugby stars complete cycle for MND research in Dublin
Sports stars and celebrities have completed a cycle around the island of Ireland to raise funds for research into motor neurone disease (MND).
The 555-mile cycle set off from Belfast on Sunday in memory of the late Scottish rugby star Doddie Weir.
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Weir died of MND aged 52 in November 2022, after years of campaigning to raise awareness of the condition and funds for research.
Scottish rugby star Kenny Logan and broadcaster Gabby Logan were among those who took part in Doddie'5 Lions Challenge, cycling around 100 miles a day for six days.
Kenny and Gabby Logan at the finish line (Brian Lawless/PA)
The husband and wife said thinking of how the 'cruel' disease takes away a person's control of their body inspired them to keep going along the most gruelling parts of the cycle.
There were joyous scenes in Dublin as the team completed the journey, celebrating by popping bottles of pink prosecco and ordering rounds of Guinness.
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Among those who crossed the finish line in Stillorgan were ex-footballer Ally McCoist, actor Jamie Bamber, former Harlequins player Mel Deane, and cancer campaigner Iain Ward.
The journey will continue at the British and Irish Lions' 1888 Cup clash with Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, with the cyclists delivering the match ball which travelled along the 555-mile cycle with them.
McCoist said he had a view of the ball at the back of Kenny Logan's bike 'going up every hill'.
Ally McCoist and Kenny Logan at the finish line (Brian Lawless/PA)
He added: 'I know for a fact the one thing about these people over here, they love their sport, they love their rugby, and they love good people attempting to do good things, and I think when they get with that match ball tonight, I think the reception will be absolutely fantastic.'
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Speaking to the PA news agency, Kenny Logan thanked the people of Ireland for cheering them on along the way by beeping horns and donating any amount they could.
He said: 'We went to one coffee shop, told her what we were doing. She said 'My uncle died of MD'. She gave us 50 coffees and all the food for free. So it's been amazing.'
Gabby Logan said the final day was 'really physically challenging', as they climbed 1,250 metres in a few hours, but also provided a profound moment for the cyclists through stunning scenery in Co Wicklow.
'There was quite a lot of solitude today, because we weren't going through villages and towns, we were going through beautiful scenery. (It gave) a lot of time for people to think about why they're doing this today, and you can see the outpouring of emotion at the end,' she told PA.
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'It's about finding cure and a solution to a terrible, terrible disease which just rips away people and their lives and at the moment, there's no hope.'
Asked about the cruel effect the disease has on a person's control of their body, the couple said it helped get them through the tough parts of the cycle.
Kenny Logan at the finish line (Brian Lawless/PA)
Gabby Logan said: 'When you're out there and you're on the bike, and it's tiring, your body's aching, and I think 'how lucky am I that I could do that', you know? So that's why you keep going.'
Kenny Logan added: 'What Gabby said, think 'you can do these things, people with MD can't'.
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'The mind is so powerful. If you get your mind right, your body will follow you, and the one thing with MD, you can have the strongest mind in the world, but your body ain't gonna follow you.
'In those dark moments, when you're up the hills, and you're really struggling sometimes, I just think I just want to get off my bike and I was determined not to off my bike because we can move our legs, we can control ourselves.
'So it's been amazing. Everybody has been amazing. It's just incredible.'
Asked what Weir would have thought of on Friday, he said: 'He'd think we're idiots, genuinely.'
He said it was 'amazing' to have Weir's wife Kathy on the cycle on the final day, and to have Doddie's son Hamish following the cycle for the week, who was originally meant to take part but had broken his shoulder.
Gabby said: 'He'd love this now. He'd love what's going to happen next with everybody going to the game tonight.
'He was so synonymous with the British and Irish Lions and loved in this country as (he was in) every country that he went to. Doddie was one of those people that just really resonated with people.'
The challenge has raised more than £557,000 (€651,000) for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, which Weir set up in 2017, a year after being diagnosed with MND.
Kenny Logan said: 'When he first started the foundation, he was thinking 'how can I find a cure?'
'And very quickly he realised it wasn't about him. He realised it's his job to try and find a cure for the person who will get it today or tomorrow.'
McCoist, while holding a celebratory pint of Guinness, said that they had been well looked after while on the journey.
Ally McCoist at the Talbot Hotel (Brian Lawless/PA)
He said the scenery of the island was a highlight, saying that it reminded of home.
'I'm a west coast of Scotland man, and it's so similar, absolutely beautiful, green – in some places it's almost lunar with the rocks – it was fantastic. The weather we've had last couple of days, beautiful greenery over the Guinness Lake,' he told PA.
'So we're gonna come back, no bikes involved, I'm gonna take the car and we're gonna do a little bit of tour. No bike next time, I can assure you.'
Asked about MND, he said: 'It's arguably the cruellest and most horrible of diseases when you see what it does to you, it eats away at you.
'Big Doddie, what a figure, not just in the rugby world throughout the UK and Ireland, all over. He's just a lovable, big character, and it shows no mercy, the disease.
'You see what it's done to a lot of people, you know, top sports stars, and it doesn't matter who you are, any walk of life, it doesn't pick and choose. It's a horrible, horrible disease.
'I think we're all duty bound to attempt to do something about it. If we can help, no matter how small you might think it may be, you've got to do it, because we have to find a cure for it.'
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