Colin Farrell took a weekend off running away from Batman and instead joined three of Enniskillen’s Running Club members in the Dublin Marathon where he was running for his friend Emma Fogarty, who is the longest-surviving person with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare and painful skin condition.
Emma celebrated her 40th birthday by having the well-known actor push her for the final four kilometres with every kilometre representing a decade of Emma’s lifetime.
€774,000 was raised for the charity 'Debra' which helps people suffering from EB.
Enniskillen’s Ian Birney was introduced to Colin Farrell - who plays 'The Penguin' in the latest DC crime series by HBO - through his brother Trevor Birney, a documentary film producer.
“I met Colin down at the Late, Late Show a few weeks ago to discuss the marathon and then we all met up again on Saturday to discuss the marathon and travelled to the marathon on Sunday morning together,” Ian said.
“I invited Paul Carron and Mary Keenan along for the run.”
He added: “It was unreal for us to be there to have the meeting with Colin and then on Sunday, going to the marathon with him.
"It was amazing to be there and it was very emotional to be a part of that story with Emma Fogarty who has suffered from that illness.”
Ian had a busy weekend after organising the Enniskillen Spooktacular before travelling down to Dublin shortly after.
“We had a brilliant time running with Colin, we crossed the line at 4:06, we picked Emma up for the last 4K to push her to the finish line and that was so emotional coming down that finish line with the thousands of people on the streets of Dublin cheering us on and it brought tears to your eyes to be apart of that,” he added.
“We went back for a get-together after the run and spent time with them.
"Colin set the pace so our job was to keep that pace and we really enjoyed it and keeping Colin strong to complete it and the atmosphere.
"People were shouting on the street cheering Colin on and he was getting plenty of support through Dublin, Phoenix Park, up around Kilmainham Gaol, all those areas with thousands of people, all cheering Colin and we were beside him.
"It was amazing to be a part of it.”
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