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Rowing the Shannon for Tony

This article is from page 4 of the 2008-08-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG

KILLALOE and Ardnacrusha were two of the last stopping posts on a unique 250 km journey undertaken by a 72-year-old sailing enthusiast.

This week, Donald Attig became the first person to row a cruiser, the length of the Shannon, solo.

Even more stirring is that he took

on the challenge to raise money for a little boy on the other side of the (eye

The nine-year-old boy is known only as Tony and was born with no arms and just one almost boneless leg, with two toes. He was discovered by a friend of Donald’s in a Mother Theresa Orphanage in Tamil Nadu in India and despite being so severely

handicapped, Donald says, “he is one of the happiest and loveliest people. He makes friends everywhere and he just oozes such joy. This child is just nine but he has the potential to change the world. With just two toes he has invented a language through which deaf and dumb children at the orphanage can communicate. He speaks Tamill, English and French

and he’s learning German. He wants to be a lawyer,’ Donald told

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