KINSALE, Ireland — Three days and 225 miles later, a group of nearly 100 serving and retired firefighters from New York and Ireland will cycle into a memorial garden Wednesday to honor those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

After departing from the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Dublin on Monday, the brave group cycled through Ireland’s lush, rolling hills, passing 17 fire stations and a fair few pubs along the way.

On Wednesday they will conclude their journey at the Ringfinnan Garden, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean in south-west County Cork and was created by an Irish nurse who treated victims on that fateful day.

It is part of a campaign to raise money for the victims and those still suffering from injuries and consequences of their work at Ground Zero.

“We lost 343 firefighters in the blink of an eye,” one of the cyclists, Michael Schreiber, told NBC News on Monday, adding that 370 people had died since 9/11.

Schreiber, a health and safety officer with the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, said there have already been several funerals this week for firefighters “who died from illnesses related to 9/11.”

“It never ends,” the 53-year-old said, adding that it would be the first time he will not be in New York on the anniversary of 9/11.

Fellow cyclist Danny Sheridan, a battalion chief with the New York Fire Department, said that as a third-generation Irish American he had a “strong connection” to the Emerald Isle.

The New York Fire Department veteran, who along with his fellow cyclists raised nearly $150,000, was at Ground Zero 23 years ago and said “it was just a memory” as he rode. “I lost so many friends that day, and I’m still losing guys,” he said.

Fellow countryman Danny Manning, 71, said he got emotional when he entered the garden, “especially when you see some of the guys.”

“Of course it brings back memories, and it brings back some tears,” said Manning, who is not participating in the ride but is there to support his comrades. “But like anything, I think, when that happens, sometimes you look away and you think about the good times, and some of those memories bring a smile to your face despite the tears.”

Manning said that 23 years ago on “that Godforsaken day,” he watched live on television as United Airlines Flight 175 hit the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York, moments after his wife Mary Ellen “screamed” when she saw the news that American Airlines Flight 11 had hit the north tower.

“I started getting dressed and put on my firefighter shirt,” he said, adding that he flagged down an emergency responder who took him to the scene of the accident.

“The clouds went from a beautiful sky to no sky,” he said. Shortly after, he added, “I looked to my right and I saw the tower going down.”

Manning, who said he was a firefighter with Ladder Company 43 in East Harlem for 23 years, said friends and colleagues were among the 2,977 people killed by Al Qaeda members in the deadliest terrorist attack in history.