PJ Gallagher and DJ Jim McCabe take on tandem bike challenge in aid of charity

Radio duo PJ Gallagher and Jim McCabe believe their latest charity effort could be a total “disaster” as they finally took to the saddle.

The Nova Radio DJs prepare for 30km cycle from Croke Park to Bray Head this month in aid of the Jack and Jill Foundation, who get families the supports they need to care for their very sick child at home.

Claiming it is “the greatest disaster for any charity organisation since fundraising began”, funnyman Gallagher said his on-air partner in crime sitting on the back of a tandem is the “cycling equivalent of miming”.

The pair will set off from Croke Park and try to get to Bray Head, though they aren’t counting on it.

“If they take us away in an ambulance at least we’ll have our T-shirts for doing it,” PJ claims.

Last year, the comedian took on half the distance on a PennyFarthing and set a foundation record for fundraising as his co host “slagged him off for being in lycra” from the side line. This year, McCabe has been roped in “as karma.”

The pair are on a mission to get the word out about the charity so “people take on a personal responsibility to help those less fortunate.”

“When you meet some of the people who are helped by Jack and Jill you can really see how special it is and if you can make any contribution to that by making a bit of an eejit of yourself for a day, it’s well worth it,” PJ told The Sunday World.

“Organisations can’t necessarily consistently rely on…let’s call them official sources to sufficiently support their work,” Jim said. “Charities like Jack and Jill rely on the support of the public.

“Don’t let us suffer in vain,” he pleads. “If we’re going to go out there and do this and make ourselves look like a pair of idiots then the least you can do is jump on board and do your own little bit.”

PJ jumps in: “Any sort of hill, mound, grassy knoll, whatever it is, they’d be more than happy.”

The Jack and Jill Foundation’s “Hill-O-ween” fundraising effort is taking place all over Ireland on Friday October 28 to raise money in support of families with sick children across the country.

CEO Carmel Doyle hopes PJ and Jim’s efforts “will inspire others to take on their own hill this October in solidarity with our families who face the ongoing uphill challenge of caring for their very sick child, day in, day out.”

The launch marks a month of activity around Jack and Jill ‘Hill to Hill’ Challenges which will culminate on Friday October 28, as the pair saddle up for the big challenge.

The ‘Hill to Hill’ Hill-o-ween challenge will mark, with a sprinkle of magic dust, the eighth annual ‘Up the Hill for Jack and Jill’ fundraiser for the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation hoping to inspire the public to see what they can do to help raise funds.

Donations can be made at www.jackandjill.ie.