'We're walking over 200 miles from the Etihad to Ireland'

Seamus and Odhran are walking over 200 miles this summer to raise money for mental health charities

A pair of Manchester City fans are planning to walk over 200 miles from the Etihad to Celtic Park to raise money for two mental health charities this summer. Seamus Groogan and Odhran Madden are completing the walk to get others talking about mental health.

The 23-year-olds - both supporters of Manchester City and Celtic FC - decided to combine their love of the two football teams to help raise funds for mental health charities. They are hoping to raise £5,000 to split between S.T.E.P.S. and Beacon Counselling Trust, which have helped the Irish-born friends following struggles with depression and gambling.

Seamus said: "We were the two City fans back home in Ireland that everyone liked to pick on. Football connected us together, and that friendship has been there for a long time.

"The amount of people back home in Ireland and in England that are affected by the rates of metal health is through the roof. Myself and Odhran have gone through a bit of a tough time ourselves, under different circumstances, and we just thought that to get over those times, we could look forward to something like this to help.

"We decided to connect it with football because the football passion is what helps with men's mental health, and with women's mental health, so we decided to put that as the start point and the end point."

Odhran believes the sport plays a crucial role in reaching men their age, which he says is a demographic often left isolated after leaving education. He said: "I’m 23, and when you’re leaving school or college, it can be very lonely for men our age. Often, football is what gets people talking and it’s probably the only time you’ll see your mates throughout the week. Giving football that spotlight is really the main aim as well.

"I think there is a big stigma back home as well where a lot of young lads don't seem to speak out. I have a couple of mates who've lost really close mates to suicide and they said they 'we had no idea he was feeling like that, he could have spoken to us'. We want to help people to make themselves approachable and to help people to speak out if they're feeling down and let them know that help is out there."

The walk is designed to be 'a genuine test of physical and mental endurance', with the pair covering being 13 and 31 miles each day for nine days starting on June 8. Seamus, who has lived in Manchester for five years, shared how he wants to give back to the Beacon Counselling Trust after it helped him with his gambling addiction that started once he moved to Manchester.

He said: "It kind of ruined me for a little bit when I was running out of money and borrowing money. It's just not a nice life and I was depressed and the Beacon Counselling Trust helped me. It helped us, and we want to give back and help other people."

Odhran added that raising funds for these charities is vital due to long waiting list times and under-funding on the NHS. He said: "The other thing is that with the NHS, the funding for mental health is really low. If you go to the GP and say you're depressed or you're feeling down, they put you on a waiting list to speak to somebody and you could be waiting like eight or nine months or they put you on anti-depressants, but really all you need to do is speak to somebody, like S.T.E.P.S or another charity which is why fundraising is so important for these guys."

"You’re never going to stop people feeling depressed, but if we can get people to speak out and know they aren't alone, that's what matters."

The duo are offering supporters who donate £10 or more on the GoFundMe page to have the name of a loved one lost to suicide printed on the back of the hikers' shirts that they wear while they complete the task.

The walk is planned to finish on June 16 at Parkhead stadium, and the pair are already deep into training, clocking over 105 miles a month to prepare for the 31-mile 'peak' days on the route.

They are documenting their progress on TikTok and Facebook under the handle @Manchester2Paradise, hoping to inspire other young men to speak out before they hit a breaking point.