Irish Boxer takes part in Special Forces Ultimate Hell Week

Declan Geraghty has been to Hell and back after taking part in RTE’s Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week.

‘Pretty Boy’ took on a took part in a show on which things are known to get very ugly and lived to tell the tale.

The southpaw joined 27 other civilians in what has been billed as the biggest, baddest, maddest installment of the RTÉ series.

Over seven days, Geraghty and his fellow recruits were required to pass numerous rigorous physical and mental tests. Surviving on two to three hours of sleep a night they had to overcome coldwater events, height tests and claustrophobic challenges as well as various trials of strength, stamina and determination.

It’s so gruelling, that over the three serious to date, there is over a 90% failure rate. It remains to be seen if Geraghty has added to that statistic or if he continued Irish boxing’s success in the week-long process.

Kildare coach Niall Barrett who works with Gary Cully among others is one of very few who completed the week.

Barrett made it through eight gruelling days of what most laymen would describe as torture to survive Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week last year.

“As a coach, I constantly tell people to get out of their comfort zone and push a little harder,” The Unit 3 Fitness boss told the Kildare Nationalist last year.

“I just wanted to show people that I was willing to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. I train a lot of kids and I suppose I just wanted to show them what you can achieve if you really put your mind to something. If you prepare and dedicate yourself towards it you can really achieve much more than you could ever expect.

“The attitude I tried to carry, the whole way through, was one of gratitude. Not to look at things like we had to do them but look at them like we get to do them. When else in my life will I get to abseil down those buildings or jump off those bridges? It’s an amazing and unique experience that I tried to be grateful for every day. I remember particularly when we were in Glendalough and we had to swim across the lake. I was telling the guys that nobody else gets to do this, you’re not allowed to swim in that lake, so it was an incredibly privileged thing to be able to do.”

The show is filmed but has yet to be aired and will hit screens next week.