EDDIE Roofe has set himself the biggest challenge of his life – to climb the highest peak in every county in Ireland within eight days to raise money for stillbirth and neonatal death charity, Sands, in memory of his late son, Peter.

Originally from Enniskillen, but currently living in Belfast with his wife, Emma, and their baby boy, Ben, Eddie's mammoth 'Peaks For Peter' challenge will see him take in a combined total of 160km of climbs, with an elevation of more than 10,000 metres.

It's a big-hearted challenge that has captured the attention of fellow Enniskillen native and family friend, actor Adrian Dunbar.

"Given my connections with the Roofe family – Christy, Tony and Frankie – I was always going to support Eddie's fundraising for the Sands charity. I have also by way of family connections been a supporter of the Stillbirth Association of Australia," Adrian told The Impartial Reporter this week.

"This vital work in supporting families through this period of grief is vital, and I wish Eddie the best of luck with this challenge," he added.

Talking about his reasons for taking on the challenge, Eddie told The Impartial Reporter: "[Myself and Emma], we lost our first son, Peter, just under two years ago during childbirth, and really this is the first opportunity we've had due to lockdown to raise funds for Sands, which really supported us through that first few months, and still do to an extent."

He said Sands was "very good" to his family, adding: "Especially when everything had calmed down; after the initial trauma, there was that period of time where you were expected to get back to normal when you felt anything but.

"They were incredibly supportive during that period of time. [We want] to give back a bit of what they gave to us."

He explained that he and Emma had been talking about what they could do as a fundraiser "for a while" before they came up with Peaks For Peter.

"My fitness isn't as good as it used to be, so I didn't think I'd be able to do a marathon or something along those lines, but I knew I would be good over longer distances," said Eddie.

"I used to be in the Scouts and always enjoyed the mountain climbing, so I've used this as an opportunity to get myself back into some form of shape and challenge myself at the same time."

Eddie will start the Peaks For Peter challenge on Sunday, July 25 at Slieve Beagh in County Monaghan.

"There's four mountains we'll do that day, finishing at Slieve Donard, and then it finishes on Sunday, August 1. The last mountain we'll do will be Cuilcagh.

"We will go up on the Sunday and hopefully there'll be a nice group of us to finish it off," he said.

Over the eight days Eddie will be accompanied by his father, Tony Roofe, and cousin, Gary Donegan, among others, as he travels from county to county to complete the challenge.

"My father has managed to get a people carrier from Donnelly's Garage donated, so he is going to ferry me and a few around.

"My cousin Gary Donegan is going to join me the whole way. He's going to do it with me, and that will be a great support, and I've got a number of other people who have said they are going to do different peaks along the way," explained Eddie.

He is also encouraging those who wish to take part from across the island of Ireland to join him while he climbs their county's highest peak, with details shared on an Instagram account (@peaks4peter) he has set up for the challenge.

Overwhelmed by the fundraising support he has received so far, Eddie said: "It's been a real shock. We were hoping for £1,000 at the start, and we got that within 24 hours, and it doubled after 48 hours. To get that level of support already is a really humbling experience for us.

"It shows as well just the volume of people that stillbirths and miscarriages have affected."

As of going to print, the total Eddie has now raised, to date, is more than £6,000. To donate to the Peaks For Peter challenge, see https://tinyurl.com/y7rvrmjt.

"It's been great to see the support and I hope that this really helps the awareness get out there a wee bit more, and I hope it helps people who have experienced [such a loss] feel more comfortable talking about it," Eddie added.