Monaghan’s McKenna family crowned Ireland’s Fittest Family 2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow’s Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
The McKenna family from Corraghbrack in Monaghan have been crowned Ireland’s Fittest Family after an incredible season finale on RTÉ One tonight. The series began with 12 families and three new coaches, and after eight exhausting weeks just four made it to the final showdown.
The top four families, the McKennas, the Carrs, the Linehans and the McDonaghs, reached the towering summit of the Tower and Treetop Walk of Avondale in Wicklow, a brand-new location this year, as the competition reached new heights.
The challenges tonight tested the finalists’ nerve, strength, endurance and teamwork after the coaches and families smashed their way through the all the events to date. It was the McKennas and their coach, former Ireland and Ulster rugby star Andrew Trimble, who had the last laugh when they stormed to victory.
Ellen Keane’s Stuarts crashed out in the quarter final, Michael Darragh MacCaulay and the Walsh family were knocked out in the semi-final meaning Andrew was the only new coach to make it all the way to fight it out with seasoned competitors Anna Geary, Donncha O’Callaghan and last year’s champ Davy Fitzgerald.
The McKenna family from Corraghbrack in Monaghan have been crowned Ireland’s Fittest Family after an incredible season finale on RTÉ One tonight. The series began with 12 families and three new coaches, and after eight exhausting weeks just four made it to the final showdown.
The top four families, the McKennas, the Carrs, the Linehans and the McDonaghs, reached the towering summit of the Tower and Treetop Walk of Avondale in Wicklow, a brand-new location this year, as the competition reached new heights.
The challenges tonight tested the finalists’ nerve, strength, endurance and teamwork after the coaches and families smashed their way through the all the events to date. It was the McKennas and their coach, former Ireland and Ulster rugby star Andrew Trimble, who had the last laugh when they stormed to victory.
Ellen Keane’s Stuarts crashed out in the quarter final, Michael Darragh MacCaulay and the Walsh family were knocked out in the semi-final meaning Andrew was the only new coach to make it all the way to fight it out with seasoned competitors Anna Geary, Donncha O’Callaghan and last year’s champ Davy Fitzgerald.
With a new location, the final four coaches didn’t know what to expect as they put their families through their paces. All the families started by competing against each other in the terrifying PLANKING IT – where the finalists had to hold a plank on a see-through platform suspended 20m above the forest floor.
From there, they faced off in another brand-new event – TOWER POWER – racing with increasingly heavy weights to the summit of the 38m Avondale Tower.
The bottom two families, the Linehans from Cork and the McDonaghs from Mayo, went head-to-head in BUZZ KILL – a shuttle-run contest from hell – with the McDonaghs leaving the competition. The scores were then wiped clean as the three remaining families competed in Fittest Family favourite BACKS AGAINST THE WALL – with only the Carrs from Westmeath and the McKennas from Monaghan staying in the race to win the crown.
The top two battled it out in the GRAND FINAL RACE and the McKennas were the family at the top of the ramp first, winning a €15,000 prize and the title of Ireland’s Fittest Family 2025.
The McKenna family are a very active family who love sport. Mum Sharon is extremely active and an inspiration to her four children. She competes in adventure racing, Hyrox and cycling. Cormac, Caolan and Cailin have a shared passion for GAA and clay pigeon shooting. Cormac and Caolan are electricians while Cailin is studying Construction and the Built Environment.
After the final, Cailin said: “Winning the title of Ireland’s Fittest Family 2025 feel amazing and we had an amazing experience throughout the journey of filming the show. From the very start, meeting our coach Andrew Trimble at Gormanston, it all went great. We couldn’t have picked a better coach. Like ourselves, he had a laidback approach, and we shared laughs and life experiences throughout the series. We are the only family ever to have taken part and won every single event and avoided all eliminators. We are so proud to have accomplished such a special win as a family. It was a pity that Daddy and my sister Cadhla were unable to be on the team as well.”
Andrew Trimble said: “When you have a family like the McKennas, who are amazing athletes and high performers, it’s my job to make sure they are focused. They got through the competition unscathed, and that was a huge relief. I was delighted to see them getting what they deserve because I think they were the best team in it. They were amazing from minute one. They were brilliant all-rounders and they really pushed each other, and they were excited and always fired up to win. It was an absolute pleasure to spend the summer with them. The whole show has been a fantastic experience. The other coaches and the other families were great as well and my first year on the show was made even more special by having a special group of people around me.”
Viewers can catch up on all the thrilling moments from this season of Ireland’s Fittest Family on RTÉ Player.
-ENDS-
Mikie O’ Loughlin, RTÉ Communications Lead