Charlie Bird has said his voice is getting "a little weaker" but he's going to fight as hard as he can.
The former broadcaster - who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease last year - is pushing ahead with his plans to climb Croagh Patrick on April 2nd.
Charlie's wife Claire says her husband is like a "Duracell bunny at the moment" with excitement about the climb.
Charlie is now urging others to climb their local hill or mountain on the same day to show their support for the charities he's hoping to raise money for with his own climb.
The 'Climb With Charlie' event will raise money for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and Pieta House.
Charlie told Pat Kenny the walk is not about him, but instead about highlighting other people's challenges with severe physical and mental illness.
He said: “I want this to be spread out across the whole country. I’ll have my friends and family with me on Croagh Patrick, and others will join me. But we want to spread the message to climb every place.
“This is really important to me.
“I know I’m going to leave this lovely country and planet, maybe in six months or a year. I want to do something for everybody for the future.
“What we want to do is make sure there’s money for research. It won’t benefit me, but it will hopefully benefit someone in the future."
While Charlie's voice has deteriorated, he said he's fortunate that he's not in a wheelchair and can still walk 10-15 kilometres a day.
Charlie's wife Claire, meanwhile, said planning the walk has given them a new lease of life.
She said: “When we got the diagnosis, obviously we were devastated. To sit there and be told he may only have a couple of years to live and he’s going to lose his voice… we cried all the way home.
“We spent the first few months literally not knowing what to do. This climb… has really inspired us.
“He’s just taken this climb to heart, and he wants to help everybody. It’s not just for himself. I’m so proud of him."
She said Charlie has even hinted he might attempt a second climb the following day as well.
Virtual voice
Meanwhile, an Irish company named Marino Software has worked with Charlie and Claire to virtually 'clone' Charlie's voice.
The firm took clean recordings from Charlie's broadcasting history, and they used those hours of recordings to create a virtual voice that Charlie can use to communicate.
Charlie said he was initially opposed to the idea of having a voice made.
However, he said: “Then when I heard about what could be done and this Irish company… it blew me away.
“We want everyone to [benefit] - not just those with motor neurone disease, but those with Parkinson’s, MS, throat cancer [etc...]
“If people are listening to us now and feel their voice is going to go… start recording themselves now. Hopefully, they’ll get the same sort of voice I am getting.”
