Charlie Bird: There is no way I could make it to the top of Croagh Patrick again

The project, which he established after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2021, reached over €3.6m in the months after his ascent of the ‘Reek’ last year.

On April 2, Bird marks the first anniversary of the climb he led up Mayo’s Croagh Patrick, and he has already asked those who wanted to remember the event with him to “extend the hand of friendship”.

An estimated 10,000 people, including this reporter, joined Bird and his wife, Claire Mould, and extended family and friends on the ‘upside-down mountain’, as Croagh Patrick is known, in south Mayo last April. It was a glorious spring day.

Bird released a dove before he set out from Murrisk in the company of singer Daniel O’Donnell, boxer Barry McGuigan, architect Dermot Bannon, and many RTÉ colleagues, including Ryan Tubridy.

Members of cervical campaigner Vicky Phelan’s family, wearing sky-blue T-shirts bearing her name, also travelled for the event.

“Fair play to you, Charlie”, “good on you, Charlie”, “we love you, Charlie” was the constant patter up the Reek, with well-wishers from all compass points stopping to embrace him, take photographs, and wish the couple well.

A year on, Bird is heartened to know that contributions are still coming to his two nominated charities — the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA) and Pieta House, Ireland’s national suicide prevention charity.

And so the Climb With Charlie fund is “still open” for donations, he confirms. The impact of such a large donation is such for both charities that it has allowed them to roll out multi-annual projects. For instance, Pieta opened a dedicated therapy space at its Swords centre in County
Dublin, and Bird was invited to unveil a plaque bearing his name.

Pieta also established the ‘Charlie Bird Crisis Intervention Fund’ in August 2022 and says this will run for three years.

A clinical research project into improved treatments for MND and the recruitment of an extra clinical nurse specialist are among the IMNDA-funded initiatives so far.

The IMNDA received over €1.7m after the climb, and has allocated it to several projects (see panel). Professor Orla Hardiman says the joint research team she is leading at Trinity College Dublin and Beaumont has a number of clinical trials underway.

The percentage of Climb With Charlie funds allocated to the IMNDA for research would benefit several projects, she says. One of these will allow for funding of trials with a drug used to treat HIV/Aids.

“Some forms of MND may be associated with a part of a virus that gets into the DNA, and if we can develop the ability to turn off this piece of virus, it may be suitable to slow down progression of the disease,” she says.

While a cure is not on the horizon, Hardiman is cautiously optimistic about research aimed at slowing down or halting disease progression to a stage where it would become a chronic condition that people would die with rather than from.

The Samaritans, which runs a 24-hour confidential helpline for those needing emotional support, has benefited from Bird’s decision to highlight the work of its volunteers.

Bird will lead a 5km walk through Avondale Forest Park in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, with Samaritans volunteers and supporters on Sunday, April 16.

Impact on wider family

Bird communicates using voice technology and is active on social media. He responded to a series of questions from the Irish Examiner about the first anniversary of his Reek climb.

“Yes, my health has diminished,” he writes.

“There is no way I could make it to the top of Croagh Patrick again.

“The most worrying thing for me now, is my MND is moving to my limbs, and I have practically lost all power in my left arm and hand. To be honest, I find it almost impossible to tie my laces or pull up a zip. And there are other things I find hard to do,” he says.

“The real worry for me now — am I going to end up in a wheelchair? The truth is I now have to prepare for every eventuality.”

His illness has been taking an emotional toll, and he often finds himself in tears.

“It can happen any place I am, and there is no warning. I was with two female bank officials in the Bank of Ireland in Wicklow town recently, sorting out a problem I had. And the truth is that I cried non-stop for almost half an hour.

“I cry every day at home or when I am out... There is nothing I can do to stop it.”

Bird says he is receiving great support from the MND team at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.

His wife, Claire, is in regular contact, and the team is “back on to her straight away” whenever she rings with a question, he says, adding the local hospice also gives excellent support and advice.

Bird is very conscious of the unwavering support given by Clare and its impact on her.

“Claire is living every moment of my illness,” Bird says.

“She is my carer, my chef, and I am totally dependent on her. And to be honest, she has to watch me every day when I am crying. There is no doubt it is taking its toll on her as well. But she is brilliant,” he writes.

“My two daughters are there for me as well, along with my five grandchildren. It is tough on everyone, but nothing can change what I am facing with a terminal illness,” he says.

Keeping his focus

Friends are also playing a critical supportive role. He has two Whatsapp groups, both featuring former RTÉ colleagues.

The ‘West Awake’ group was established before his diagnosis, involving colleagues connected to the West of Ireland,

The group includes retired RTÉ broadcaster, Seán O’Rourke; former Northern editor, Tommie Gorman; Michael Lally of TG4; former news editor, Ray Burke; and former agriculture correspondent, Joe O’Brien.

“We are very close,” Bird says, remembering another key member and great colleague, former RTÉ Western editor Jim Fahy who passed away last year.

The second group is named the ‘Kehoe’s Gang’, after the well-known pub in Dublin, and also includes colleagues from RTÉ.

Asked how he keeps his spirits up, Bird says there are “good and bad days”.

“And I can’t change that — I just live from one day to another.”

Despite his advancing illness, he is still so committed to helping others.

“I am about two years into my journey, but what is helping me greatly is extending the hand of friendship for Pieta, the IMNDA, and now Samaritans,” he says.

“I will continue to raise awareness for these three great charities while I still have a breath in my body.”

• The Charlie Bird Hand of Friendship Walk with Samaritans is being supported by Coillte, which will open Avondale Forest Park and several Coillte sites across the country for 5km and 1km walks. For information on the walk and sites across the country, to register, or to make a donation, visit www.charlieswalkoffriendship.com

Charlie's lasting legacy

The IMNDA set up a dedicated development fund, named after Bird, which is financing a number of projects.

“This incredible fund was created after a national consultation process with our MND community,” says spokeswoman Derbhla Wynne.

“The overarching objective of the fund is to provide the necessary supports to help those with MND live as independent a life as possible in their own home and within their own community,” she says.

The IMNDA already has an outreach nursing service, with five regional nurses helping over 410 people and their families who are living with MND across 26 counties.

As a result of the ClimbwithCharlie monies it received, totalling over €1.7m, it is recruiting an additional clinical nurse specialist.

“This dedicated MND nurse will look after approximately 75 people living within the midlands. Having access to an MND nurse can sometimes be the difference between coping and not coping at all,” Wynne says.

“We are also delighted to contribute funding towards a clinical research project into improved treatments for MND and overseen by Prof Orla Hardiman of Trinity College, Dublin,” she says.

The IMNDA’s Charlie Bird Development Fund will also provide:

• Funding for those living with MND who wish to avail of a voice banking service;
• Respite ‘recharge’ grant for a hotel stay away from home for families;
• Transport grant to enable clients make their MND clinic appointments in comfort;
• Caregiver respite grant.

“None of these projects would have been possible if it weren’t for Charlie Bird and his incredible bravery,” Wynne says.

Pieta says that Bird’s donation resulted in a new therapy room in Swords, and its crisis intervention fund “will support thousands of clients through a full treatment of intervention counselling with our therapists”.

Pieta chief executive officer Stephanie Manahan says that “one year on from the ClimbwithCharlie campaign, the funds raised for Pieta are having a lasting legacy in communities throughout Ireland by playing a vital role in preventing the heartache and devastation that suicide brings.

“On behalf of the Pieta organisation and our supporters, I want to once again express my deep gratitude to Charlie and to his wife Claire for what they achieved in the most challenging of circumstances,” Manahan says.