JOCKEY Walter Swinburn was the victim of a horrific fall which left him in a critical condition in a Hong Kong hospital last year, but still he wasn't fazed by a walk from Cork to Dublin as he set out yesterday morning on the first leg of a 180-mile trek to raise funds for three children's charities.
He said when he was in hospital in Hong Kong there were some children there who had been caught up in a fire. "Some died in the hospital, and it lust seemed my plight was nothing compared to theirs," he said. "I chose to walk Ireland because I got sackfuls of letters and Mass cards and medallions from people here wishing me well."
Swinburn said the money he raises - "I'm hopeful of raising a six-figure sum" - will go to St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin, the Children's Hospice in Cambridge and the Pat Sin Leng fund in Hong Kong.
"I hope to do about 20 miles a day over 10 days and there's an open invite for people to join me on the way - we take in Mitchelstown, Cahir, Cashel, Johnstown, Abbeyleix, Portlaoise, the Curragh, Naas and Leopardstown before reaching Dublin."
Anyone wishing to donate to the Walter Swinburn Charity Walk can do so at any Ladbrokes branch in Ireland, or by sending it either directly or by cheque payable to Walter Swinburn Charity Walk, Barclays Bank, High Street, Newmarket, CB8 8 NH, Sort Code 20-60-38, A/C No 00632066.