Donegal woman Alana Mc Conalogue took on a charity boxing match in Bahrain and beat her fundraising target to raise €3,170 for Haiti.

Alana @caloriesandcarbs

St Patrick’s Day was the defining day for Buncrana native Alana Mc Conalogue as she got into the ring to show her strength in a white collar boxing match. Alana is well known in Donegal, the Middle East and further afield through her health and exercise blog – CaloriesandCarbs.net

The Fitness and Nutrition Consultant failed to get the win, but had a massive success with her fundraising goals for the charity ‘Haiti in our Hands’.

Alana smashed her initial target of €1,000 by more than three times, with the €3,170 total going towards directly supporting people in the impoverished region.

Haiti in our Hands was set up by Joe Mc Cullagh, a friend of Alana’s from Derry. She was amazed to learn that her achievement would help feed and educate 500 children in Haiti for one month.

Alana said: “That made me so happy but also hit me with the realisation that this charity needs that amount of money every month to be able to do just that. We really don’t know how lucky we are. Again, I am so thankful to those who donated and supported me – you can keep an eye on the charity’s Facebook page for updates in the near future: Haiti In Our Hands.”

Alana developed a huge amount of respect for boxing through her training in the past number of months. “The sheer discipline, training and commitment needed is outstanding. I am definitely going to keep up the training as a hobby – don’t think I’ll turn pro just yet,” she said.

She faced a tough test on St. Patrick’s Day when it came to facing-off against her opponent Kora. Alana was gracious in her defeat on her blog post on CaloriesandCarbs.net. “I don’t like losing but I can definitely say I gave it my all and it wasn’t to be!,” she said.

Alana was cheered on by friends on the night, as well as well-wishers at home in Donegal who were watching her efforts live on Facebook. The event was a proud moment for Alana as she put all her training into action while fighting to help others.

White Collar Boxing event in Bahrain

“I am delighted to say that the total raised was a whopping €3,170. Incredible. I felt such a sense of achievement before I even stepped in that ring, knowing how much this money will help those in need in Haiti,” she said.

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