Trigger Warning: This story involves childhood sexual abuse and mental health issues. If you need support, reach out to a trusted resource in your area or visit OneinFour.ie for help. You’re not alone.
If you’ve ever hiked a mountain, you know that it’s not just about the view at the top—it’s about the gasping, swearing, soul-searching middle. And if you’re queer, you also know that coming out of anything—closet, trauma, or a toxic group chat—is rarely a casual stroll. Which is exactly why Jack Fitzgerald, an openly gay Irish man and survivor of childhood sexual abuse, is doing something truly extraordinary: climbing the seven tallest mountains in Ireland in seven days to raise money and awareness for OneinFour, a charity supporting adult survivors like himself.
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It’s not a metaphor. It’s cardio for a cause.
From May 19 to 25, Jack will lace up his boots and hit the peaks for his Mountains of Change initiative. And he’s not just asking for donations—he’s inviting you (yes, you) to put on your cutest activewear and join him. On the final day, May 25, folks all over Ireland are encouraged to hike their own mountains—literally, not just emotionally.
“This show of support is so important for survivors who often feel people won’t support them,” Jack explains. “The number of people in this country who experience childhood sexual abuse is one in four, so we all have survivors in our lives and pretending we don’t or feeling ‘that wouldn’t happen in our community or family’ is adding to the problem.”
It’s hard to overstate the gravity of Jack’s story—and how many layers of silence and shame he had to peel back before he could even tell it. He shared with GCN, “I experienced sexual abuse from the ages of 5-10 years old. I did not disclose this to anyone for nearly 20 years.”
When he did try to cope, the system wasn’t kind.
“My mental health quickly deteriorated as a teenager and after my first suicide attempt at 16 I was placed in a psychiatric hospital for four months. This cycle continued until I was about 25 when I found out about OneinFour and what they do.”
But what’s especially heartbreaking—and frustrating—is how much his queerness played a role in that silence. “My sexuality was a big factor as to why I felt I could never disclose about the sexual abuse to anyone,” Jack said. “Some of my earliest memories are being picked on for being feminine, gay or queer and my abuser used this as a way to instill fear and place blame on me.”
And then he tells us the kind of twisted manipulation that no child—no one—should ever have to endure:
“‘If you tell them about this, you’re telling them you are gay’. ‘You have to keep this a secret or you’ll get in trouble for being gay’. These sentences to an already terrified five-year-old was enough to guarantee I would stay silent through five more years of abuse and well into my twenties.”
Let that sink in. Then let your blood boil. And then—take a breath—because this story doesn’t end there.
Jack found his footing, both metaphorically and literally. “I feel incredibly privileged to live the life that I do now. I am able to connect with people in a way I never could before, my mental health has massively improved and while I’m still working on it, it is much more manageable now.”
“I live a life I love now and that is mainly because of the support I received from OneinFour,” he said. And mountains? Mountains became a place of healing. “Being on a mountain has always reminded me that I am one very small part of the world in the same way the abuse is only one small part of me and not who I am.”
Excuse us while we sob into our Stanley cups.
But the fight isn’t over—not until more people know they aren’t alone. “I know there are countless other survivors who have not yet had the opportunity that I have had and I want to show as many of them as possible that there is help out there.”
So what can you do? You can hike. You can donate. You can talk about it. You can stop pretending this doesn’t happen in “nice” communities or to people who seem “fine.” And yes—you can show up in glittery hiking boots and a Pride flag cape if that helps you get up the hill.
Jack isn’t just walking the walk—he’s climbing it. Seven times. In one week. With a story most wouldn’t be brave enough to whisper. He’s doing it not just to heal himself, but to blaze a trail for others who’ve been told—explicitly or implicitly—to stay silent.
Let’s walk with him.
To support the Mountains of Change initiative and donate to OneinFour, visit https://mountainsofchange.ie. Bring water. And bring heart.
Source: GCN