Eamonn Keaveney’s feet are in “surprisingly good” shape.
He is tackling an epic hike from Istanbul, Turkey, to his hometown Claremorris, Co Mayo, barefoot.
On Monday, the 33-year-old made it back to Ireland for the “home stretch” of his journey in an attempt to break a Guinness world record. He hopes to reach Mayo in February.
“[People] are expecting to see these horribly mangled feet but the skin on the bottom of the foot toughens up over time,” he says, walking an average of 25km per day.
He says thorns have been one of the biggest hardships on his feet and for that reason he tends to avoid walking on grass when possible. He has also managed to stay “fairly clear” of blisters.
His feet are more sensitive in cold and wet conditions. Certain terrain slows him down, such as gravel, which he describes as “easily the worst possible thing” to walk on.
Eamonn Keaveney have stood up to the challenge well.
He first flew to Istanbul in February 2025 and began his world record attempt of the longest barefoot walk, on March 4th.
He previously held this title in 2016, after walking around Ireland, a distance of more than 2,000km. The record was most recently held by Polish man Pawel Durakiewicz for completing a distance of 3,410km barefoot.
After 185 days of walking, Keaveney officially broke the world record for the longest barefoot walk on September 4th at the border of Hungary and Austria but he is aiming to reach Claremorris, a distance of more than 6,000km.
Eamonn Keaveney on his barefoot trek across Europe in an attempt to set a new world record. Photograph: Eamonn Keaveney
Walking barefoot appealed to him while at university after he heard of the reported health benefits.
After walking around Ireland, he set his sights on walking across Europe. He spent a year preparing for it by walking barefoot everywhere he went outside of work, including the grocery shop, which resulted in him being told off by a security guard.
Keaveney has taken a career break from his job as a civil servant in his attempt to break the record.
Eamonn Keaveney in Vienna
He initially thought he would complete it in November but now hopes he will arrive in Claremorris in February. The journey took longer than expected for several reasons such as extreme conditions of snow, minus temperatures, heatwaves and thunderstorms.
In Turkey he was bitten by a dog. He says the bite itself wasn’t bad but the “ordeal” of getting rabies vaccines delayed him by about a week.
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He says he has received some “weird looks” from locals but has met some very “friendly” people who offered him shoes and lifts, which he had to decline as well as water and food.
He had days where he questioned his “life decisions” but overcame them by taking the trek one day at a time.
His girlfriend, Ellie O’Fegan, is very supportive of his endeavours and accompanied him on the first half of the journey, wearing shoes.
He said his family and friends were “concerned” at first but their worries have eased as he can contact them daily and as he gets closer to home.
He is raising money for Friends of the Earth, an environmental campaigning organisation, and Jigsaw, which provides mental health support to young people in Ireland. The fund has exceeded its €10,000 goal.
He has not thought much about his arrival home, but is looking forward to being able to relax.