Veronica will be glad to have private life back

BY JACKIE KEOGH

IT was a week of firsts for Inchydoney: it was voted Trip Advisors' best beach in Ireland for a second year in a row, but also featured prominently on Operation Transformation.

Veronica Horgan, the West Cork leader on the popular RTÉ programme, chose Inchydoney as the venue for the segment of the show where contestants do something they never before dared they would do.

‘I had never got into a swimsuit on the beach, and I had never run into the water,’ said Veronica, who happily accepted the challenge, donned a swimsuit, and ran into the surf at Inchydoney.

‘It was absolutely freezing,’ she said, ‘but I’m glad I did it. Once we overcame our worries about hypothermia, it was fun, and I look forward to doing it again in the summer when it’s warmer.’

Veronica, who lives about two minutes away from the popular beach, said she was delighted that it took the top Trip Advisor title again this year.

She said the jaunt last Thursday proved to be liberating: ‘It was the last push, and it made me realise that I am not the same person that I was two months ago.’

In January, Veronica set herself the target of losing two stone as part of the eight-week Operation Transformation programme and with next week’s episode the final in this series the West Cork woman has just 2.5lbs to lose to reach her goal.

With the end in sight, Veronica said she is feeling both sad and somewhat elated: ‘I’m going to miss the excitement of going to Dublin every week and having my schedule planned out for me, but I’ll be glad to have my private life back.’