Dungiven men do stomach-turning fish challenge for Men’s Shed

Four Dungiven men have raised £300 doing the hilarious ‘Surströmming Challenge,’ where you eat foul-smelling fermented herring.
By Daire Ní Chanáin
Published 13th Apr 2022, 11:46 BST
Updated 14th Apr 2022, 09:27 BST
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Danny Larkin, Gary Woods, Shaun Dallas and Kieren Thayaparan ate the fish in Murphy’s Bar in front of a live and virtual audience, who were all plugging their noses and laughing hysterically as the men tried to build up the courage to eat the fish.

Danny said: “I was opening the tin and as soon as I pierced it, all the brine splashed out and the smell hit us straight away. The smell just grows and grows and it’s the worst ever. Kieren and Shaun were just repeatedly being sick and Gary, to my left, just had his head down the whole time. I didn’t even have it on my fork yet and I was just staring at the tin thinking ‘how am I going to do this?’ I don’t even like fish!

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“If it wasn’t for charity, I don’t think I would have been able to do it. I was trying to lead by example and I knew if I didn’t do it, the others wouldn’t either. I just stared at it for a good few minutes thinking ‘what am I going to do?’ and that’s why I kept moving the tin to either side of me to get them to take some too so I wouldn’t be left alone.

Danny Larkin, manager of Murphy's bar, presenting £300 to Raymond Brady, Dungiven Men's Shed. Danny and friends raised the money by eating fermented herring in front of a live audience.Danny Larkin, manager of Murphy's bar, presenting £300 to Raymond Brady, Dungiven Men's Shed. Danny and friends raised the money by eating fermented herring in front of a live audience.
Danny Larkin, manager of Murphy's bar, presenting £300 to Raymond Brady, Dungiven Men's Shed. Danny and friends raised the money by eating fermented herring in front of a live audience.

“We opened the bar a year ago in May and we have been doing charity events the whole way through. We’re trying to really focus on local charities; we raised £465 for Foyle Search and Rescue, £200 for Benbradagh Community Trust, a youth club, and we raised money for the Dungiven Boxing Club and Dungiven and Feeny Cancer Research too.

“Two weeks ago, Shaun did the worlds hottest crisp challenge, which is a crisp covered in Carolina Reaper Powder. It was awful! I put some of the powder on the tip of my finger and tasted it and my mouth was on fire for half an hour. I can’t imagine what it was like for him to have the whole crisp! We had to go to the chemist for him to get milk of magnesia to cool him down and with all that being said, he said he would rather eat three of those crisps than do the fish challenge again!

“Although it was horrible, I’m absolutely delighted we did it. The Men’s Shed is a great cause and the money will be a great help so they can buy tools or wood and help people in the local area.”

Danny says they will be continuing to do challenges and other fundraisers in the bar in the future but they hopefully won’t be as smelly as this one!