01-07-2025
Kerry man abseils off Croke park for ‘butterfly skin' charity – ‘My brain was screaming ‘what are you doing?'
People living with EB are missing the essential proteins that bind the skin's layers together, so any minor friction, movement, or trauma causes it to break, tear, and blister. The skin is as fragile as a butterfly wing.
James has long been a supporter and advocate for the Debra charity locally and so it was no surprise to hear that he had put his hand up to take part in Debra's Abseil Challenge 2025.
Every single euro raised by James will go on to have a direct impact helping Debra to provide essential care, fund groundbreaking research, and campaign for better treatments and support for families facing the unimaginable.
Funds are also allocated for research into more effective treatments than are currently available, mostly raised by volunteers.
Speaking to The Kerryman after the stunt, James said that it was a mixture of nerves and excitement as he stood there on the edge, ready to drop off.
"When they say 'let go now', everything in your head is saying 'you bloody idiot, what are you doing?!'. Once you're hanging there in the hair though, it's totally, totally brilliant. I'd highly recommend it to anyone,' he said.
"Everything was so safe, you do all the prep work and there's no danger whatsoever unless you decide to do something very stupid such as undo the harness,' he laughed.
As for being such a passionate advocate for Debra Ireland, he said that it's a charity that because of how severe and traumatising the effects of the condition can be for both the person with it and their families, it's a cause that deserves all the support it can get.
"There's no cure for EB. The only treatment for it is to wrap people up in bandages and even this has consequences. Taking off the bandages can literally rip the person's skin off which as you can imagine, must be extremely painful. If you're a parent of a child going through this, just imagine how tough it must be for them so that's why it's so important to make sure the families are looked after as well,' he said.
As well as this, he said that the people behind the scenes of the charity are just amazing.
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"It's not just a job for them, it's something more. They are so passionate about it,' he said.
Sadly for James, he joked that he wasn't able to hang around up above Croke Park long enough to get a bird's eye view of Kerry's epic win against Armagh on Sunday. Although he joked that he might have gotten too absorbed in the drama of the game and would have forgotten to hold on to the rope!
"I am so grateful for all the kind support and vital donations to this event. As always, people are very generous to good causes of which there are many,' added James, speaking on the success of his fundraiser.
The donation page will stay open for a few more days if anyone would like to make a contribution which would be gratefully accepted at
Further details on EB and the supports available for it can be found on the Debra Ireland website.
