Donal Walsh, the Kerry teenager who touched so many lives when he came to prominence through his writings and subsequent appearance on Brendan O’Connor’s “The Saturday Night Show” is being honoured by his native county.
Donal who fundraised tirelessly while battling cancer has now had the Donal Walsh #Livelife Foundation set up by his family in order to bring forward his causes of providing age appropriate teenage facilities in hospital and hospice centres as well as promoting his anti-suicide message.
While he was battling cancer for four years, from the age of 12, he became very aware of the effect his illness was having on his family and friends.
“I feel angry that these people choose to take their life to ruin their family and to leave behind a mess that no one can clean up while here I am with no choice in my sentence, trying as best I can to prepare my family and friends for what’s about to come and to leave as little mess as possible.”
These words were taken from an article written by Donal as a call to his peers was to live life to the fullest.
His television appearance touched a nerve for so many people both nationally and internationally and as his father Fionnbar said “One of the things Donal did was he opened up the conversation, which is half the battle, and he just left it out there.”
The parents of Donal Walsh have opened up about the legacy he wanted them to carry forward and are currently in the process of setting up a foundation in his name.
During his illness, Donal found that there were not enough facilities for teenagers in hospitals and hospices and this is why Kare 4 Kids and the Palliative Care Unit at Kerry General Hospital have become two of Donal Walsh #livelife selected charities.
“We want to start our aid in the new Tralee Hospice facility which will be the prototype for other units that we may be able to assist as well as to offer some much needed funds to other families who may find themselves financially constrained by the costs of dealing with serious or life threatening illnesses” said Donal’s mother Elma.
“We received incredible support from people while Donal was ill and we would like to direct Donal’s legacy to assisting others.”
Killarney Summerfest had previously confirmed the festival was not taking place this year but said that they were delighted to facilitate this fundraising opportunity with the Donal Walsh #livelife Foundation.
They plan to run three events, “Donal Walsh #livelife Teddy Bear’s Picnic”, “Donal Walsh #livelife Youths Cycle” and “Donal Walsh #livelife Gala Ball”.
“The goodwill and good feeling generated by this incredible young man is something we felt we needed to support practically and because he is from Kerry we felt that the Killarney Summerfest is an ideal opportunity to partner with the Foundation” said organiser Patrick O’Donoghue.
“This is our way of keeping his positive messages alive as well as offering funding to assist teenagers who are suffering serious illnesses.”
For further information on these events, you can contact Ceara Scanlon on 064 6671531 or email ceara.scanlon@inec.ie
