On 15 May 2013, Raymond Kelly, Peter Zagrapan and Simon Corrigan will leave the village of Dunloy on the 575 Stroke Challenge. The challenge has been aptly named as they will cycle 500 miles, climb 7 peaks of the Mourne Mountains in 5 days, arriving back in Dunloy Village on Sunday 19 May.

This challenge is being undertaken to raise money for the Stroke Association, to raise the awareness of Stroke and ensure that there is life after Stroke.

 Raymond Kelly, from Dunloy is used to facing challenges in his life. Six years ago, he had a stroke at 38 which left him with very little speech. Worse than that was the depression that followed, leaving the former electrical foreman, who was used to the powerful position of directing others, very low on confidence. ‘At that stage, my life was looking very dark,’ admits Raymond. The turning-point for Raymond and his family was when he attended a stroke event, where he met others in a similar situation. He found listening to their stories, and seeing how far they had progressed since their strokes, inspirational.