A stint in Australia has become the well-travelled path for many young Irish people, but for Fergal Guihen the route to Sydney has been anything but traditional.
The journey began in March 2024 in his hometown of Arigna, Co Roscommon. Despite having “never rode a bike before”, the 27-year-old saddled up and cycled across three continents, 28 countries and 30,000km of often challenging terrain.
The goal was to raise money for two charities close to his heart: Mayo Roscommon Hospice and NorthWest STOP.
Guihen’s “story of emigration” came to an end on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Sydney Opera House, where friends, family and supporters gathered to witness his final pedal stokes.
“What I originally believed would take one year ultimately became a two year adventure and, without question, the toughest thing I have ever done,” he said.
Fergal Guihen’s family at Sydney Opera House, where Guihen’s 30,000km cycle came to an end on Saturday. Photograph: Jody Coffey 
A large crowd gathered at Sydney Opera House on Saturday for Fergal Guihen. Photograph: Jody Coffey
The buzzing crowd caught the attention of passing tourists and locals, unaware of the distance travelled and emotion involved. Guihen said the sense of achievement was yet to fully sink in.
“Cycling in there, with such a big crowd, thinking back to when I left home, to think that this many people would’ve followed along and been interested in this journey and just the support I got was unbelievable,” he said, adding that having family and friends on hand to greet him was “really special”.
Guihen worked as a general nurse at Sligo General Hospital before he became known as “Rossie to Aussie”.
His experience of people relying on the vital services provided by the charities, and knowledge of how much the organisations require public donations to continue providing them, was the “why” behind his fundraising odyssey.
Guihen’s great-grandmother was cared for in Mayo Roscommon Hospice and “it was unbelievable to be able to pass away so peacefully”.
“Being a nurse, I guess I know how important palliative care is,” he said.
He became familiar with the work of NorthWest Stop, a provider of suicide prevention services, due to family members having “passed away with suicide”. The subject is something he believes needs to be spoken about more openly.
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Along the way, Guihen experienced temperatures that dropped to as low as -22 degrees in China and crossed treacherous terrain. He relied on personal motivation, a secondhand bike, a tent and the kindness of strangers. He said his worldview has been forever changed by the warmth and generosity he encountered during the journey.
Fergal Guihen near his hometown of Arigna, Co Roscommon
“My original route wasn’t meant to go through countries like Iran or Afghanistan, but as I built confidence the further I went, I met people that would’ve come through Iran, Iraq,” he said.
“My initial reaction was, ‘You can go through these countries and not die?’. All I had seen was the news about [them]. So, I had that immense fear that anyone would feel going through countries like that, but only to be met with an amazing amount of kindness.
“I couldn’t put up my tent. I couldn’t even put out my camping stove. There were people handing me food, bringing me into their houses. And I hope it’s the same back in Ireland. Years ago, we would’ve done the same.”
Guihen said he has learned that “human nature is the same everywhere”.
“We all want to take care of each other. People are people, and governments are governments.”
During his travels, he made connections with Irish communities living in Europe, Asia and Australia, finding little pockets of hospitality and home at every turn, including being welcomed with open arms by a group of Irish expats in Thailand on St Patrick’s Day.
These moments of kindness far outweighed the lows of the two-year adventure, of which there were many. Guihen said he was drugged and attacked while cycling across Iran, which has become one of his “favourite countries”.
“It’s just such a pity that such an awful incident happened there,” he said, adding that the aftermath was probably when he came “closest to quitting”.
“But all I knew is once I got back on the bicycle, and once I got one pedal stroke after the next, the momentum was going again. It was almost easier to keep going than it was to quit and having the support of everyone back home and the two charities, thinking of them got me through that as well.”
Guihen’s Rossie to Aussie fundraiser had brought in donations of more than €145,000 as of Saturday for the charities.
Mayo Roscommon Hospice chief executive Martina Jennings said the organisation is “beyond grateful and so, so proud of Fergal for choosing us as one of his charities for his challenge”.
She added: “Not only has he raised amazing funds, he has also raised awareness for Mayo Roscommon Hospice and the work we do. We couldn’t fund palliative care services without people like Fergal.”
These donations will be the building blocks for Ireland’s first children’s hospice outside Dublin, Jennings says.
There will be plenty for Guihen to look back on, but on Saturday he was looking forward to celebrating with the Irish community in PJ O’Brien’s Pub in Sydney, where a pint of Guinness will seldom have tasted so good, and a rest.