Former RTÉ broadcaster Charlie Bird has shared a harrowing tribute for Cora O’Grady, a woman who sadly died while climbing the Galty mountains during the ‘Climb With Charlie’ charity hike this past weekend.
51-year-old Cora suddenly felt unwell as she and her children were approaching the summit of their trail on Saturday morning. While the air ambulance and paramedics rushed to the scene, unfortunately, Ms. O’Grady was pronounced dead on the mountain.
Her body was transferred to University Hospital Waterford where a post-mortem will take place.
Speaking about this tragic incident early this morning on Twitter, Charlie wrote, “I want to offer my condolences this morning to the family and friends of Cora O Grady from Mitchelstown in County Cork.”
I want to offer my condolences this morning to the family and friends of Cora O Grady from Mitchelstown in County Cork.
— Charlie Bird (@charliebird49) April 4, 2022
Cora who was climbing in the Galty mountains took ill and passed away. Her family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers.
“Cora who was climbing in the Galty mountains took ill and passed away. Her family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers,” he added.
On Saturday morning, Charlie was joined by friends, colleagues, family members and supporters as he set out to climb Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo, in an effort to raise funds for two charities close to his heart — PIETA and the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association.
In total, the 72-year-old journalist has raised over €2M, with over 1.3K people taking part on the day across the country, with various hikes taking place in 238 separate locations.
Reflecting on how proud he was to have achieved such a milestone yesterday, Charlie tweeted, “Wow I am completely blown away by the amazing support for climb with Charlie all over the country and abroad.”
“I can tell you we are going to go beyond 2 million Euro raised. I cried so much yesterday, but they were all tears of joy. A big loving hug to everyone. Thanks everyone.”
If you would like to contribute to the campaign and offer a donation, then check out the Climb With Charlie donation page here.
