​Geralt hoping more go ‘solo’ for Saturday's 'Long walk for Gaza' in Inishowen

Organised by the Inishowen branch of Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (ISPC), the 25-mile route was chosen to symbolise the same length as the entire Gaza Strip which is home to 2.1 million people compared to Inshowen's 40, 544.

The walk, which starts at Ireland's most northly point - Banba's Crown in Malin Head at 7.30am - is divided into five stages and should finish in Buncrana's Swan Park around 7.30pm with members of the public free to join part, or all of a journey organisers hope will raise much needed funds for the Palestinian people.

And playing his part will be O Mianain who is eager to encourage more representation from local GAA clubs to join in by adding his own slant to a hugely worthwhile cause. Not content with simply walking the 25 miles, Geralt plans to complete the march as a hurling or football 'solo', a challenge he's hoping he can convince more to take up.

"Basically I'm doing it with a twist and the twist is I'm going to walk the full 25 miles as a solo run or a hurling solo," explained the former Derry county Poc Fada champion, "Look, I'm not saying I'm going to be able to do it the full way but I'll do it as much as I can and hopefully if I can persuade more to join we can share the load.

"I just want to draw in more people. This is about keeping what's happening in Gaza, and to the Palestinians, fresh in people's minds because these atrocities cannot be allowed to continue."

O Mianain's 'Solo 25' team will form part of the overall walking group and he's encouraging as many as possible to get involved for at least part of the charity walk.

"They said never again after the Second World War when we saw the awful pictures of concentration camps yet look at what is being allowed to happen in Gaza. It's horrific," he added.

"We called our section of the walk 'Solo25' but it's a bit ironic because we want to get as many involved as possible. It's like the motto Slaughtneil have - Ní neart go cur le chéile (There is no strength without unity). Look, I might do 100m and then hand it on to someone else, maybe from a different club, a different jersey, who carries it for another 100m and so on.

"It's like when all the Irish farming families in an locality used to come together on one farm to get all the work done; then the next day they'd move to another farm. That's called a meitheal and when you go over the mountain in the Poc Fada, you have a meitheal with you - your helpers - but it's a lovely word which I'm sure a lot of people could relate to.

"And this effort is a real meitheal because one person can't change the world alone but if that one person brings more people with him, and those people decide to bring more too, then great things can happen."

The first leg of the Long Walk for Gaza goes from Banba's Crown to Knockamany Bens (7.30-9.30am) with stage two travelling from Knockamany Bens to Malin town. Stage three stretches from Malin to Carndonagh where it will pause for a short lunch before moving on to the North Pole Bar, arriving at approximately 5pm. The fifth and final stage takes walkers from there to Buncrana's Swan Park, arriving around 7.30pm.

"Every single penny raised will be going to Palestinian charities to try and help those suffering, " added Geralt, "So we are hoping as many as possible come out and contribute in any way they can, whether that is simply supporting the walkers and taking part themselves."

For more information on the Long Walk for Gaza or to contribute, visit linktr.ee/longmarchforgaza or contribute directly to Geralt at www.paypal.com/pools/c/9i7wM4b05Q