Skydive was plane sailing for 80-year-old Graiguecullen man

EIGHTY-YEAR-OLD Dave Dowling from Graiguecullen had “not one ounce of nerves” earlier this year when he jumped out of a plane at 10,000 feet to raise money for cancer research and support.

Instead, he was filled with gratitude and joy to see 25 of his family members gathered in a field in Roscommon to see him descend from the heavens.

The family gathered again at the weekend in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel to deliver a cheque for €6,500 to the Irish Cancer Society and to celebrate Dave and his wife Josie’s 60th wedding anniversary.

He was “thrilled to bits to finally succeed” after nearly a year of preparing for the jump. After two postponements in March due to poor weather conditions, they finally got the call on Friday 24 April that they would be jumping the following morning.

“You can imagine the panic!” said Dave.

But it was worth it. Some of Dave’s 14 grandchildren got to see the plane enter the hanger, which he then boarded alongside his son-in-law, and off they flew. He had on his person a small photo album of all the family members he had lost to cancer, bringing them along for the spin of a lifetime.

He watched through a plastic door covering as they ascended 10,000 feet into the cold, blue sky, lying on the floor and strapped to his flying partner, Lucas.

Then, “out of nowhere, we were gone; no warning, no nothing,” said Dave.

The freefall for the first 5,000 feet, temperature-wise “was the same as the butcher’s shop,” Dave said. “If you open the deep freeze, that’s how cold it was.” Then, Lucas pulled the parachute and they began floating over the Irish countryside.

Dave recalled: “One thing I’ll never forget is Lucas saying ‘we’re going to do something crazy.’ He said: ‘I have things to do now’ and handed me over the controls,” said Dave.

“I don’t think I’ve met a more mental person in my life,” said Dave.

He successfully steered them around and the pair landed safely back at base camp. From lift off to landing, it didn’t take more than half-an-hour.

“There were tears, it was very emotional for everyone,” he remembered. “I was stood there, it was so family! The grandkids were thrilled to be there.” Dave thanked all the people who donated and his own family for making it all happen.

He is left with an immense satisfaction of doing what he set out to do and being able to drum up funds to continue the work of the Irish Cancer Society.

And is another jump on the cards? “I would never ever do it again. You’d never get the same buzz again,” replied Dave.