Community turns out in strength to remember James

Walk was organised in memory of James who passed away aged 45 last April

Scores of men, women and children gathered in Corlough last Sunday morning to participate in the 8.5km James Varley memorial walk.

The walk was organised in memory of James who passed away aged 45 last April, leaving a huge void in his family.

James was raised in Wembley, London and was very proud of his Irish roots as his mother Annie Varley (née Cassidy) is from the west Cavan village, while his father Pat is from Mayo. Such was James’ attachment to Corlough, he is buried in the village. He still has many uncles, aunts and cousins in Corlough.

James suffered from Epidermolysis Bullosa EB, which is a rare disease that causes fragile, blistering skin. The blisters may appear in response to minor injury, even from heat, rubbing, scratching or adhesive tape. It is also known as Butterfly Disease, as the blisters often form the shape of butterfly wings.

The children of James’ cousins decorated strategic points along the route of the walk with little butterflies they made and painted themselves. It is the symbol of the charity Debra Ireland, which helps and supports families affected by EB.

Some of James’ relatives made the trip over from England for the special occasion, including his mother, Annie Varley (nee Cassidy) and brother Murtagh, while others travelled from different parts of Ireland.

His cousin Lisa Scollan organised the Corlough walk as she was eager to pay tribute to such “an inspirational person who refused to be defined by his illness”.

“When James was a young lad, they would have spent holidays here in Corlough and James always loved returning and spending time here, where he had a special connection,” explained Lisa.

He could turn up in Corlough out of the blue, and no one would be surprised to see him.

“James had a special gift, he could strike up a conversation with anyone from every walk of life. He loved to get to know people.

“He had a heart of gold and was so kind,” she said.

It was fitting the walk was staged in West Cavan as it was a landscape he cherished.

“He loved to explore the area, everywhere from Corlough to Swad, to Bawn up to Blacklion and Ballinamore. He did a lot of research on the area and would be able to tell us things about parts of West Cavan that we had never known about, even though we lived here,” Lisa recalled, giving the example of a lough on the summit of Benbrack, which James alerted them to. They climbed it during lockdown to see it for themselves.

Approximately 100 or so people turn up for Sunday’s event which raised €3,593 for Debra Ireland.

Fiona Cunningham (Née Cassidy) lives in Kinsale and is also a first cousin of James Varley. She made the lengthy trip north to participate in the memorial walk. However, Fiona and her sister Lisa McInern will travel even further north for another event in James’ honour. The sisters are set to take part in the ‘Arctic Challenge’ in March hosted as a fundraiser by Debra Ireland and have so far raised almost €12,000.