40 years and counting

Happy birthday! The Fast is 40 years old this year. How did it start? This is its story.

A young Westlife supporting Concern.

Once upon a time

Picture the scene: a man sits down to his beloved steak dinner. On the black and white television (it is 40 years ago after all) are harrowing scenes of starving children in Biafra. He can’t eat his dinner – people are starving to death.

The man decides he has to do something and so he fasts for 48 hours outside Dublin’s General Post Office to raise money for these people. And the first Concern Fast is born!

Years later

Things have changed since then. The Fast is now 24 hours long with thousands of people all over Ireland taking place. But the sentiment is still the same: raising money for people who are suffering from poverty and starvation. People like Gloria.

Famous faces

Over the years, loads of people have taken part. All heroes in their own right, but some are more famous than others. Can you recognise any in the picture gallery? Post your guesses to the comments below. I’ll post the answers here next week.

Comments

Is that Peter Stringfellow?! :)

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