Councillor to throw himself off Europa

It isn’t that political life has become too much for him, rather he has decided to abseil down the Belfast building to raise money for charity.

Entitling his challenge ‘Throw a Politician Off a Building’, Councillor McCarthy is hoping to raise £500 for local animal shelter ‘Lucy’s Trust’ when he abseils down the Europa on June 14.

“The charity runs a shelter to care for the most ‘dangerous’ dogs, working dogs, former fighting dogs and dogs that have been abused,” explained Councillor McCarthy.

“These are the dogs that the pound would often put to sleep first, but Lucy’s Trust revolves around the passion of the owner, Olivia who is a qualified vet, and her commitment to never give up on a dog, no matter how badly they have been abused.

“I was completely caught up in Olivia’s passion when I visited Lucy’s Trust and I knew I needed to help them in any way that I could.”

The one problem facing Councillor McCarthy, who is a full-time wheelchair user, is that he has, as he calls it, “a crippling fear of heights.”

Councillor McCarthy continued: “I once went rock climbing and made it about 30ft up before fear got the better of me, so I really don’t know how I will react to being on top of the 169ft tall Europa Hotel.

“Even if you aren’t persuaded to give money to an animal charity, you could pay to see a politician dangling from the top of the Europa, screaming his lungs out. Surely that is worth £10 on its own.”

You can donate to Councillor McCarthy’s Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/throwpoliticianoffabuilding/ or contact him directly at [email protected]

You can also find out more about Lucy’s Trust by visiting www.facebook.com/Lucystrust