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A sixth world record for Paralympian and amputee Shane McLoughlin, who successfully pulled the 120 tonne Aran Island Ferries’ vessel Saoirse na Farraige five meters. RAY RYAN
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Monaghan man breaks his sixth world record with pull of 120-tonne boat in Connemara
Shane McLoughlin has fast accrued his Guinness World Records for pulling weighty vehicles and vessels.
MONAGHAN MAN SHANE McLoughlin broke his sixth world record this morning as he pulled a 120 tonne boat over five metres.
McLoughlin, a 54-year-old Paralympian and amputee, completed the feat at Rossaveel Harbour in Connemara at 11.05am, when he pulled Aran Island Ferries’ largest vessel, Saoirse na Farraige.
The vessel is the largest passenger-only ferry registered in Irish waters.
His daughter Jessica and their dog Sparky were supporting him at Connemara today, but he also invited fellow amputee, seven-year-old Katie Walsh from Tuam, to join him in the pull after he passed the record-making five metres.
Katie lost her leg at the age of three in a lawnmower accident, while McLoughlin lost his leg in a farm accident.
McLoughlin has fast accrued his Guinness World Records for pulling weighty vehicles and vessels; he first pulled a truck, weighing 18 tonnes, in 2024, and continued on to heavier vehicles.
Speaking to The Journal after his success today, he said he next wants to pull a 300 tonne train.
“I’m still on adrenaline now,” he said. “I’m feeling good at the minute, in great shape – ready for another one.”
And he has already figured out what he wants his seventh world record to be: a pull of a 300 tonne train, preferably in Galway – but he isn’t too picky.
McLoughlin’s interest first piqued in pulling vehicles after stumbling across videos of strongmen doing so on YouTube in 2024, but he had watched British strongman Geoff Capes pulling vehicles as a child.
As an amputee, he was determined to show that it’s possible to live as full a life as an able-bodied person.
“Honestly and truthfully, I do this for amputees around the world,” he said, adding that he had invited Katie and her parents to come to this morning’s pull to show the possibilities.
“Mind over matter,” he said. “If you’re hungry, you’ll do it.”
McLoughlin said he’ll take a few weeks to recover from the strain placed upon him today, and he and Jessica are to travel to England in March where he will take part in a number of other pulls.
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