Golden Globe winner Irish actor Colin Farrell finishes Dublin Marathon while pushing friend, with rare skin condition, in wheelchair

Dublin: Double Golden Globe winner 48-year-old Irish actor Colin Farrell took break from his acting schedule on Sunday to complete the Dublin Marathon while pushing an old friend in a wheelchair, media reports said on Tuesday.

According to CNN reports, Irish star ran the final 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of the 26-mile race while pushing his friend Emma Fogarty, who lives with a rare skin condition, across the finishing line. She is an ambassador for DEBRA, has layers of bandages over 80 pc of her body to prevent wound infection.

Fogarty is Ireland’s oldest surviving person with the condition, according to the PA Media news agency, which said she was born with no skin on her left foot and right arm and can develop very painful blisters from even the slightest touch. Farrell, who was back home in Ireland for the marathon, aimed to raise funds for DEBRA, an Irish charity supporting people who, like Fogarty, have the incurable genetic condition epidermolysis bullosa (EB) – also known as butterfly skin.

Farrell is Oscar-nominated actor, who is currently starring in the HBO miniseries “The Penguin,” met up with his friend in the late stage of the run on Sunday afternoon. Farrell won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor for 'The Banshees of Inisherin' (2022) and he also won several awards for The Lobster (2015), the reports said.

Fogarty said, “This was a dream come true for me and I want to thank Colin, who has been the most supportive, generous and loyal friend I could wish for. He has always shown his compassion and empathy for people living with EB and is a true champion in my eyes.''

“Running a marathon is never easy but once he committed to it there was no going back, he is a man of his word, he added.