Scoil Mhuire Fifth Year Student M. Gilligan was one of a group of 10 teenagers who attended the Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin last Wednesday, 20th of November 2019, to attend the Irish Healthcare Awards 2019, a black tie event hosted by well known journalist and broadcaster Dr. Ciara Kelly.
Their project, compiled and submitted by Kilimanjaro Achievers coordinator, Dr. Padraig Sheeran, was titled ‘Physical Challenge for the Physically Challenged’. The project had been shortlisted in the ‘Patient Lifestyle Education Project of the Year’ category along with 9 other projects.
The group were absolutely delighted to find that they were chosen as the overall Winners in their category on the night and were presented with an inscribed trophy by Dr. Ciara Kelly.
This award marked the fantastic achievement in August 2018 when M. Gilligan and the other teenagers, all aged between 15 and 18 and many of whom were just 18 months post scoliosis corrective surgery, were successful in summitting Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. They had trained physically and mentally for five months to climb Kilimanjaro, despite having no previous climbing experience. Each teenager had an incredible story to tell about their battle with significant health challenges over the past few years, all of which makes their achievements even more astonishing
