Making a drunken ass of himself . . . for charity
IT'S a long road from Mizen Head to Malin Head - especially if you stop for a drink in every bar along the way.
That's the unlikely mission of wacky Aussie Tim Goodacre who has visited 138 pubs so far and he hasn't reached Malin yet.
Tim, accompanied by a stuffed toy donkey called Asal, is due to hit Donegal some time in the next two days after setting off from Mizen Head 33 days ago on their zany long-distance pub crawl.
Their first bar was Danny Mike's on Cape Clear Island off West Cork, on mid-summer's Day.
And, still standing, the Thatch bar in Ballisodare became their 138th stop before resuming their trek yesterday, through Co Sligo.
The 25-year-old from Perth is doing the entire pub crawl on foot with Asal on his back and, naturally, they are taking a rather circuitous route.
"Each time I stop at a pub, I ask the barman to recommend another worthwhile pub.
"It can be just a few miles up the road or 20. If I pass any in between I will stop at them, too, if they are open," he said.
Tim's policy is to have at least one drink at every stop, although sometimes this becomes more.
"I reckon I've had well over 100 pints since starting out. I will sometimes order just a half-pint to make sure I can make it to the next pub," he said.
And if the mood takes him, he occasionally stays a little longer.
"I sometimes put Asal to bed early and pop along to a couple of pubs in the evening on my own, but for the purposes of keeping a record I'm only counting the ones we both enter." He explained that he dreamed up the idea of the adventure as a result of "a couple of drunken conversations that went way too far".
Tim has turned his escapade into a fundraising mission for the donkey sanctuary in Cork and a worldwide donkey charity. Our picture shows the pair during a stop in Cullen's bar, Collooney, Co Sligo.
ANITA GUIDERA
