Having spent months working at two major film locations in Morocco in recent years – namely for the Indiana Jones and Gladiator 2 films – Kerry man Mike O’Shea has fond memories of the African country.
He also has many friends living there, and this has prompted him to travel to Morocco to help those in need following the devastating earthquake near Marrakesh last Friday, which has led to at least 3,000 deaths. Towns and villages in the region have been destroyed.
The Beaufort man is best known for working on Hollywood blockbusters – building and co-ordinating famous film stunts, as well as logistic organisation and transport – and now his Hollywood skills can help those trying to survive following the earthquake that hit the country. Aside from his Hollywood fame, he is also a world-famous adventurer who has undertaken many epic travels across the world.
“I am battled hardened to that part of the world, I have worked in Morocco several times in the last few years on Indiana Jones and Gladiator, so I have contacts on the grounds. Friends have contacted me saying they need shelter, their buildings are stone and mud, and towns have been annihilated,” he said.
“In the last four years I have spent one year of my life there. They are nice people. You have wealth in the cities, but once you are out of the cities, it is like anywhere else in Africa; people are living hand to mouth. They have no savings, and their animals have been killed, that is their milk and food, and their crops are in sheds, and the buildings have fallen down on them. In the near future, there will be a catastrophe with food,” he said.
With this devastation on his mind, Mike has decided to travel there with supplies – mainly tents and sleeping bags – to provide some of the shelter they so sorely need. He is heading for Ouirgane, a rural village in the heart of the Atlas mountains, which bore the brunt of the earthquake.
While he said many people have offered other supplies, including clothing, he says that customs will prevent certain things going through, so he is opting to concentrate on providing shelter for winter.
“There is a perception that Morocco is hot and sunny and it is on the coast, but there is mountain, remote terrain where whole villages are gone. The whole lot [all the buildings] are on the floor and they are expecting snow,” he said.
Within just 24 hours of putting out a call, Mike, who now lives in Dingle, has been inundated with support from across Kerry, and on Monday, September 18, he will head to Morocco with supplies. He will join Tralee man David Gleeson on the journey.
Mac Eoin General Merchants Ltd in Dingle have come on board, and Mike is urging people to give cash donations to them or to buy camping gear and sleeping bags there in a bid to ensure high-quality, appropriate shelter.
A similar agreement is in place with Portwest in Killarney, where locals Eileen Daly and Sally McMonagle are collecting equipment.
Donations can also be dropped to the former Dingle Climbing Wall building on Saturday from 9am to 1pm. All donations must be of a high standard.
Adams of Tralee have also sponsored a van, and Fiat Ireland are contributing towards the expenses for the journey to a location more than 2,500km away from Ireland, involving three ferries and taking three to four days. A charity shop in Killorglin has also donated crutches and other similar equipment.
Mike will provide updates on Instragram regularly at https://www.instagram.com/mikeosheaadventurer/?hl=en