There were great highs - Liz has remarked that I often appeared visibly refreshed when I returned home after a walk - and occasional lows. One time, upon finishing a tiring walk up Mount Leinster, I was driving home feeling on top of the world, singing a favourite song. All of a sudden I became aware of my happiness in the moment and realised with a shock that I was still the father of an absent daughter. It's a crash all parents in this position feel and it's never easy to handle when it comes. Another time, while taking my coffee by the passage grave on the summit of Slieve Gullion, I was thinking about Eve when it struck me that people had been honouring their dead in that very spot for thousands of years. Being there, and grieving myself, I felt strangely connected to the spirit of that beautiful location, and aware that while my loss is unique to me, sadly it is not unique. (Gullion is just minutes from Newry and very accessible - you should visit!)I have learned a lot over the course of the year, like how you shouldn't lock your keys in your car on the quietest road in the Slieve Blooms. If you do insist on shutting yourself out of your car, I recommend not doing it while half dressed, and try to keep your phone on your person rather than on the driver's seat.beside your keys. (The AA man took two hours to locate the road I was on, and confessed over a coffee from my flask that he thought I was "a nut job.") I learned too that if you can't navigate in cloud then a snow-bound walk near Kippure in the Dublin Mountains can take six hours instead of three and a half.After these incidents I went on to learn how to read a map and compass and develop a nervous tick where I tap my pockets to feel my car keys every minute or so.Not all of the walking has been carried out alone. I have had friends with me on many of the peaks, as well as my parents and my son who has loved tackling some of the easier hills. (I couldn't have done any of this without the support of Liz who has been minding the baby during all of my long days away from home!) These walks in company have been among the most enjoyable with the shared exertion and easy conversation making for memorable days out and deepened relationships. Walking alone has its place too, as I find I have more time to observe my surroundings and reflect on how life is, and how great this country can be. By the summer time I had made steady progress and completed over half of the Mountains on the list. As a result I felt ready to initiate phase II of the project and start raising some funds for ISANDS/A Little Lifetime. I have been writing a blog detailing each of the walks I have done, so I added to this by opening a fund-raising webpage and began sending mails to friends and family asking for their support. People have been most generous; especially many of the folks on the Little Lifetime forum so thank you to one and all for your encouragement.Now it is late August and I have stood on top of 20 of the 26 Mountains. I'm almost sad to anticipate the end of the challenge because it has been such a fulfilling experience. Still, I'm glad to have six more walks remaining and look forward to getting back out there before the short evenings draw in once again.Murray Nolanmoments37

Thank YouOur sincere thanks to everyone who made donations or organised fundraising events in aid of A Little Lifetime Foundation.Your support is always needed, monies received is well used and greatly appreciated.Many thanks. Mary Ryan, National Fundraising Officer, A Little Lifetime FoundationSaoirse Nollaig Meagher - Church donations at Funeral ?250 Molly Moylan - John & Sarah Moylan ?100Saoirse Nollaig Meagher - David & Mary Sheehy ?200Sam - Tim, Siobhan & Eve ?25Eimear Conlan - Olivia Canning ?25Maeve - Debbie McCurrie ?25Eva - Mum & Dad ? 100Michael - Michael & Denise O' Driscoll ?35Aaron Malone - Niamh ?50Saoirse Nollaig Meagher - Liam & Siobhan ? 100Matthew Moran - Colleagues & Friends in Merrill Brink ?210Aoife & James Parker - Mark O'Dwyer & Katarina Svensson ? 100Rebecca & Lucy Rudden - Mammy, Daddy, James & Elliot ?100Megan Conway - Jennifer Barrins ?50Baby Ava - Mum & Dad ?100 & Rita & Denis ?50Sophie Lyons - Colm Lyon ?1,250Katie - Maria Mc Tigue ?35Aisling Dwyer - Eamonn & Mary Dwyer ?85Luke Finn - Eamonn & Colette Cronin ?40Joseph McHugh - Conor & Barbara Mc Hugh ? 25Lorcan O'Toole - Mam Dad & Big Sisters - ?1000Caitlyn Marie - Diane Blood - ?125Baby Matthew - Marcela Macincora & Friends ?98Danny Rowan Malone - The Andersons ?50Brian & Evanna - Mam & Dad ?50Cormac Egan - Friends at Tesco ? 100 Tadhg - Norkom services UK & Ireland ?100Patrick & Patricia McCarthy - Mam & Dad ?50Michael Keaveny Farrell - The Farrell Family ?60Ross Egan - Emmet Egan & Aisling Fagan ?50Small Donations in Memory of -Conor Roche, Doireann Concannon, Danny Garry, Barra,Rebecca Lucy, Jamie Hynes Sice, Patrick & Patricia McCarthy,Chloe from new baby sister Robyn, Caoimhe, Chloe, Deirdre O'TooleAnniversaries -1st Birthday -27th May- Cillian James SmithMammy & Daddy ?75, Nana ?25 Robbie, Angela, Niamh & Orlagh ?2510th Birthday - Sarah Kate Meehan Trish Brady ?50Gift in Memory of ...