After eight weeks of intense competition, Ireland's Fittest Family Season 12 reached its pinnacle with the highly anticipated final set against the iconic backdrop of Dublin Port.
Hosted by Laura Fox, the tense finale saw the Cummins family from Kilkenny grab the title of 'Ireland's Fittest Family'.
The winning family was raised on athleticism. Not only does Dad, Paul, run the Kilkenny Storm ice and inline hockey club, he is also a national ice hockey coach. He also has a background in kickboxing (he became a junior world kickboxing champion at just 16 and later secured a senior world title in his 20s).
Following in their father's footsteps, Bryce and Zac both play ice hockey and practice kickboxing. The boys are members of the Irish ice hockey team, while their sister, Hallie, earned a spot on the senior national ladies' team at just 15 years old.
The spirited family took on the gruelling competition under the guidance of Clare hurling legend Davy Fitzgerald. In fact, Davy was coaching three of the final families (the Cummins, the O'Connells, and the Ferns) while camogie legend Anna Geary coached the Magners.
This nail-biting finale kicked off with the 'Burning Rubber' challenge - a head-to-head four-ways race at Dublin's motorcross track. The families had to clamour over containers before dragging tyres along a leg-burning track.
The Cummins lagged in third place for this trial, with the Magners coming in first and the O'Connells close behind them.
Next up was 'Sole Survivor' - a test of balance, speed, strength, and endurance. One person from each family is nominated to balance on a precariously slim beam high up in the air. First, they must balance on both feet for two minutes before standing on one foot until the rest fall or hit the 15 minute mark.
Meanwhile, the rest of the family members are busy dragging sandbags across balance beams before heaving them over a wall and onto a container. The clock stops when the balancer falls and the family with the most bags on the container wins.
This was the Cummins family time to shine. While Hallie balanced until the max time limit of 15 minutes under the encouragement of Davy, Paul, Zac and Bryce hurled a whopping 177 sandbags. They blew the competition away.
Although she said she couldn't feel her left leg by the end of it, Hallie was proud to have earned her team so much time.
"She went through the pain barrier, it's unbelievable what she just did," Davy told Laura.
At this stage of the game, the Cummins family and the Magners family were deemed safe, while the Ferns and the O'Connells were left to battle it out for the final spot.
Taking on the famous 'Back Against the Wall' challenge, the families went back to back in a leg-burning trial. The Ferns' time of 20:18 beat out the O'Connells who fought to get their shaking legs to the 19:47 mark.
Finally, it was time for the Hanging Tough challenge which saw the final families hanging 20 metres above the cold water of Dublin Port. The combined time of each family members are totted up at the end to name the finalists of Ireland's Fittest Family.
The Cummins family earned 5 minutes and 47 seconds, with Bryce Cummins holding on for the longest at 1:59. The Magners held on for 6:56 while the Ferns scraped by at 2:36.
With that, Anna's Magners family and Davy's Cummins family were left to battle it out on the dreaded grand-final race. The intense course includes sprinting, flipping tractor tyres, wall climbs, walking along see-saw balance beams, lifting sandbags, and crawling under a cargo net before taking on a series of high climbs and an ice bath. Not to mention the giant ramp they have to summit at the end.
The race was incredibly tight to the end, but the Cummins family managed to make it to the ramp just ahead of the Magners, earning them a €15,000 cash prize and the title of Ireland's Fittest Family 2024.
Reflecting on their victory, Paul, the father of the family said: "As individuals we have had success, representing our country in multiple sports, but to compete with zero expectations except to give it a good go.
"It took a lot of hard work, a lot of teamwork, Davy’s unique motivation and a little luck for us to be crowned Ireland's Fittest Family (or as I like to call it Ireland's Fittest 'Kids and their dad’). Thank you all for this special gift! We still find it hard to believe that that's exactly what happened."
Thanking all involved in the show, both behind the scenes and in front of the cameras, Paul went on to pay tribute to the Flaherty family who lost their son Cillian following filming.
"We would also like to give a special mention to the Flaherty family and their amazing son and brother Cillian who will always be remembered as the superstar he is, an amazing young man who was taken too soon."
Speaking about the final, winning coach Davy shared a similar sentiment: "Well done to Anna and the Magners on a race well fought, but the trophy is safely with the Cummins family! My thoughts, as well, continue to be with the Flaherty family and their son and brother, Cillian."
The next series of Ireland’s Fittest Family will begin filming this Summer. If you and your family would like to apply for Series 13 of Ireland’s Fittest Family, please follow the below link: Ireland’s Fittest Family Series 13
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