Carrickfergus veteran preparing for Belfast to Dublin wheelchair challenge

Bryan Phillips joined the British Army in 2005, before going on tours in Iraq (2007) and Afghanistan (2010 and 2012).

On his last tour of Afghanistan the former Rathcoole resident, who now lives in Carrickfergus, lost both legs above the knee and suffered multiple injuries to his arm after he stood on am improvised explosive device (IED) on June 9 2012.

To mark the tenth anniversary of his ordeal in Afghanistan and raise funds for the Irish Guards Charity, Bryan, who served in the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards, is conducting a 101-mile fundraising effort between Belfast and Dublin in a manual wheelchair.

Speaking to this newspaper, Bryan said: “I’ve been thinking for the past year for a way to mark 10 years of surviving after being blown up on June 9 2012. I wanted to challenge myself, both physically and mentally, and I thought I’d push myself from Belfast to Dublin in my manual wheelchair.

“I will be pushing continuously the whole distance, only stopping for water breaks, food breaks and toilet breaks. I plan to do the push over the weekend of June 11/12 as it’s the closest to my ‘bangaversary.’

“My starting point is going to be Shaws Bridge (Belfast) due to its location. It’s quiet, has accessible car parking with plenty of spaces for those who wish to see me off and it’s beside the River Lagan.

“I plan to follow the river right up to Lisburn, before I join the A1 to Newry. The end location is to be considered, but will possibly be Island Bridge the Irish National War Memorial Gardens in Dublin.”

Bryan is currently covering the miles ahead of his challenge, putting himself through a demanding training regime.

He explained: “Training so far has been tough, as well as an eye opener. I always knew it was going to be hard and I have learnt a lot, both about my body and about nutrition. I now know how important it is to keep on top of the nutritional side of things. During longer sessions I have experienced my body running on fumes and at that stage it’s game over, whereas on another long distance session where I was more prepared, drinking and eating little and often, my body felt strong as well as my mind.

“It’s about getting the right foods into the body and not just anything, because it’s going to take me around 36-plus hours. It’s about getting the right carbs on board that slow release energy, as well as maintaining sugar levels and hydration. If it was a marathon distance and time that I was looking to do, I’d be able to get away with a few chocolate bars or energy gels, but this is a different ball game.

“I’ve done long distances similar to this on my hand bike, but again it’s a lot harder in a manual wheelchair. On my hand bike I could do it in around nine hours, but it wouldn’t be a challenge compared to doing it in a wheelchair and that’s the whole purpose.”

Bryan will have a number of people joining him throughout the fundraiser, including a support team to assist with any mechanical issues he may experience.

He stated: “I will have people who live along the route supporting me, some possibly jogging/walking beside me for a few miles and some even cycling a bit, but I will also have a vehicle with me. It’s there not so much to follow me, but being close by with the likes of my repair/tool kits and spares in case there’s any punctures or mechanical faults with the chair. It will also be carrying water and food and anything else that I may need just to help make things run more efficiently.”

Revealing what inspired him to undertake this charity effort, Bryan said: “I get asked a lot on each anniversary of my incident on how I feel and to be honest it’s always the same. I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m still here to tell the tale and that has been my perspective since day one. There have been many parents who never saw their loved ones come home and my thoughts will be with them as I push through every mile.

“All money raised will go to the Irish Guards Charity. This is a charity that I have seen first-hand all the hard work they do from supplying mobility equipment such as wheelchairs, walking aids and hand rails for gardens to funding wet rooms, accessible ramps including wheelchair friendly front doors that are wider and have a low threshold for veterans of all conflicts as far back as World War Two right up to present day and still continuing to do so.”

As a wheelchair user, Bryan is well aware of the issues facing people in wheelchairs when they are trying to travel through urban areas.

Bryan, who raised £20,000 in 2018 for the Poppy Appeal and the Irish Guards Benevolent Fund through the sales of poppy wreaths, said: “As part of this fundraiser, my aim is also to highlight everyday problems wheelchair users come across in daily life, from a lack of drop kerbs, to cars not leaving enough room when parked on pavements, plus anything else that people contact me about.

“I was contacted by (Mid and East Antrim) Councillor Cheryl Brownlee, who offered her support when I did a social media post about drop kerbs. Cllr Brownlee emailed the right department to see if the issue could be addressed and within weeks it was marked for work to be carried out and a few weeks after that the work was complete.

“To be honest, I was impressed at such a quick turn around and was not expecting it to happen that fast. Since then we have identified a few other areas that could be addressed and hopefully in the near future those will be sorted,

“I am also sharing a questionnaire about pavement parking that was written by the Department for Infrastructure that gives people three options to chose from regarding the best way to tackle the issue. I personally am not against pavement parking, as long as there’s enough room for the likes of prams, wheelchairs and mobility scooters to get by without forcing them onto the road.”

The inspirational resident, who has overcome a lot of challenges, is also using this opportunity to travel across Northern Ireland to tell his story about what happened on that day in Afghanistan, whilst raising funds and awareness about his latest fundraiser. An online fundraising page has been set up to collect donations for the Irish Guards Charity. At the time of going to print, over £18,000 has been raised.

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