TV cameras in town to celebrate 112 stone weight loss

ONE thing's for sure, you won't need a widescreen television set to accommodate the people of Kiltimagh when they feature on RTÉ's Operation Transformation later this week. Fighting fit and looking trim and slim, Kiltimagh's OT gang have lost a whopping 1,579 lbs (that's 112 stone 8 lbs) between them.

The town is leading the country's weight loss table – no mean achievement - and the RTÉ cameras visited Kiltimagh this morning to celebrate.

A lively and colourful parade of walkers, young and old, brought a carnival atmosphere to the streets as they made their way from Market Square to St. Aidan's National School to raise the Operation Transformation flag – only the second one ever awarded.

It was then onwards to the sculpture park to meet the leaders and build a tower stack from bottled drinks, water and more sugary varieties, to demonstrate the immense size of the weight loss to date.

Kiltimagh has been a sea of fluorescent yellow and blue, day and night, since the start of OT, with more than 200 people signing up to the challenge.

Leading the teams are eight leaders – Denise Groarke, Tom Byrne, Thomas Cryan, Sonia Gilmartin, Marty Malee, Gerry Moore, Derek Ryan and Nuala Timlin, all raising money for local charities.

With just three weeks to go the weight loss isn't slowing down – last week the overall weight loss in the east Mayo town was 14 stone.

Also getting behind them have been the local schools, St. Aidan's NS and St. Louis CS, who have organised OT events. Some VIPs led this Saturday morning's walk – the St. Louis Under 16 girls basketball team, league and all-Ireland cup winners, who were honoured as the team of the year at the inaugural Connaught Telegraph Young Sportstars of the Year Awards recently.

The committee have expressed thanks to everyone who came out to show the country the true spirit and sense of community that's very much alive and thriving in Kiltimagh.

And remember the motto: 'Keep Kiltimagh Active'.