‘One of the best things I’ve ever done’: Ireland’s Fittest Family surprise for Limerick dad

JOHN Leonard was at home in Cappamore one Monday night when his son Jack told him they were going for trials on Thursday night.

“I said, ‘trials for what?’. He said, ‘Ireland’s Fittest Family’. I said, ‘What are you talking about?’” recalled John, who is a plasterer by trade, a firefighter and has a family business as a licensed driving instructor. Jack had put the family forward but had neglected to tell the rest of them!

“We went up anyway on Thursday and did these fitness routines in Portlaoise. We got through the trials. They contacted us and said 'you got through to the show',” said John. 

He makes it sound like a piece of cake but there is fierce competition from hundreds of families to even make it to the show. The latest series of Ireland’s Fittest Family airs on RTE One this Sunday night, October 28 at 6.30pm.

The team is made up of John, aged 57, Ben, 20, Jack, 19 and Amy, 17. The family is completed by John’s wife, Bee, and another son, Richard. The family from Tuogh is GAA mad as Ben and Jack play hurling and Gaelic football with Cappamore, while Amy plays camogie.

John said they have watched the programme since it started.

“I’m in the fire service in Cappamore. Last year we were asked to put in a team for Limerick’s Fittest Superstars. My sons were watching it. It was a fantastic night,” said John.

A team from Cappamore Fire Service won the fundraiser for a playground in Pallasgreen and handed back their winnings of €1,000. 

“We were watching Ireland’s Fittest Family after that and we were saying who would we pick if we decided to go for it. Jack then applied for it without us telling us,” said John.

After they qualified for Ireland’s Fittest Family the real work started. The already sporty family got in even better shape with the help of trainer, Joe Shanahan in his JS Fitness gym in Doon. Joe trains the Doon GAA senior team and John said he put himself and his children “though their paces”.

John also thanked the Maldron Hotel in Roxboro for giving them free membership to use their swimming pool and facilities.

The producers of Ireland’s Fittest Family came down to Cappamore for four and half hours to shoot footage and learn more about the family.

Ben is studying accountancy in LIT and is currently working for a statistics company that works on the World Cup. Jack is described as the “messer” in the family and has just finished his Leaving Cert. While Amy is in fifth year.

John said appearing in Ireland’s Fittest Family is one of the “best things I’ve ever done with my family”.

“For me personally, to go and to do something like this with my kids – it is something we can always look back on in the future.

“We can say we’ve done that. There isn’t too many families in the country that can say they have done this. We got on so well with all the crew and all the other families,” said John.

The Leonards are contractually forbidden from saying how they got on so tune in to RTE One at 6.30pm this Sunday night, October 28 to see if they can bring another All-Ireland title back to County Limerick in 2018.