Irish immigration is focused on the life of immigrants in Ireland. According to British media reports, Richard Donovan, a 42 year-old man from Galway, Ireland, began his challenge on January 31 in the zero-degree environment of Antarctica and completed the entire challenge after 5 days 9 hours 8 minutes: he ran seven marathons across seven continents in five days.
John O'Shea, founder and CEO of the charity organization Goal, said: "What Donovan has done is truly astonishing and very unique." He stated that the funds raised from this event will be used to assist charitable work in the Darfur region of Sudan. "The environment and time he is in are very special. I can hardly believe he succeeded. His actions have drawn significant attention to the misfortunes in Darfur, helping to alleviate suffering in that area, achievements that I cannot aspire to and that leave me in awe."
After starting the Antarctic challenge, Donovan flew to South Africa, where he completed a marathon in Cape Town. He then flew to Dubai to participate in another marathon, completing 3 marathons in two days. On February 2, after a snowstorm in Toronto subsided, Donovan completed his fourth marathon and then traveled to Toronto, Canada, for his fifth marathon. He then participated in a marathon in Santiago, Chile, and finally in a marathon held in Australia.
O'Shea stated that during the 129 hours, Donovan experienced extreme temperatures and only managed to sleep briefly in the economy class seats on the flights between continents. After the event, he had run a total of 183 miles and flown tens of thousands of miles. O'Shea said: "This highlights how small the world is and how much one person can contribute to Darfur. The international community remains indifferent to the fact that 400,000 people have died in Darfur, and he feels as strongly about this fact as I do."
Since 1985, the charity organization Goal has been engaged in charitable work in Sudan. In 2007, the organization spent approximately 18 million euros on aid work in the region. In 2002, Donovan became the first person to run marathons in both Antarctica and the Arctic. He now organizes the world's northernmost marathon—the Arctic Marathon—and the world's southernmost marathon—the Antarctic Ice Marathon.
Donovan has achieved victories in the Antarctic Marathon, Inca Trail Marathon, Mount Everest Marathon Challenge, Antarctic 100 Kilometer Race, and the Himalayan 100 Mile Stage Race.