Kevin Rooney will take part in the Tri-Nations Gift of Life Shield and (inset) James Reynolds from Tallaght
Footballers Gift of Life
TWELVE years ago, Kevin Rooney was told he had a 10 per cent chance of surviving cancer.
If that news wasn’t bad enough, in May 2017 doctors told him that he had only a 0.1per cent chance of having children, because of the chemotherapy and radiation.
However, fast forward to today and Kevin (38) is happily married to Sorcha Conlon, and the pair have three kids Harbour Hope (7), Caoimhin (3) with the latest member of the expanding family arriving last year – Ever Blossom (10 months).
Life found a way to come “full circle” admits Newcastle resident Kevin, who this week will represent the Republic of Ireland at the first-ever Tri-Nations Gift of Life Shield which takes place on Saturday, March 28, at the AUL Complex in Dublin and features Transplant Sport Ireland, Scotland Transplant Sport and Transplant Sport Northern Ireland.
Speaking to The Echo ahead of the tournament, Kevin recalls his bone marrow transplant which occurred “16 years ago today.”
“Just thinking of that now, I forgot it was today, March 2010,” said Kevin, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2009.
“It was six months of chemotherapy and radiation. The same as the rest of them, a long road to recovery. I jumped back into college as soon as possible, worked part time then fulltime.”
An avid rugby player, Kevin pushed it a bit too hard and broke ribs after returning to the game, an incident which promoted his retirement from the oval game and a concentration on sports slightly more favourable to the body.
The treatment can be challenging with Kevin developing asthma from radiation and the transplant, along with osteoporosis from steroid use because of the asthma.
During treatment, he learned that he was suffering from an “extremely rare” form of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) as well as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with only 100 recorded cases of it worldwide when he was diagnosed.
The Ireland team
Ahead of his bone marrow transplant, Kevin bunked off at St James’s Hospital to propose to Sorcha, his childhood sweetheart.
In September 2010, he went back to college, and having got his primary degree, he then elected to do his master’s while working part-time for pigsback.com.
Sorcha did the same post-graduate degree, so they ended up in classes together. In 2015, they got married in Portugal, surrounded by their families and friends.
Today, Kevin has made a full recovery and only sees doctors for standard check ups.
Looking forward to representing his country, this is the first time Kevin will line out for the transplant side.
“Funny enough, I signed up in March 2020 but then covid happened. Life put it on the back burner, with kids populating the house, now we have three, a 7-year-old, a three year old and 10 months,” said Kevin.
“The Irish transplant team has played European games before, but this is the first round robin of teams from Ireland and Scotland, hopefully Wales and England will follow for future competitions.
‘Football is one sport I never played. I played rugby, I did play football on the astro with my Dad.
‘The last couple of years I went to Nenagh for the transplant team that do athletics, because I was always into running and track stuff.
‘In a short number I got roped into the football and have been playing with them since September.
‘I’m looking forward to Saturday, training hard, doing a lot of running. Will load up on the carbs!”
James Reynolds, from Tallaght, who has undergone two kidney transplants, one in 2009 and another in 2024 when his brother Graham was the donor, is another member of the team looking forward to the tournament.
“It’s a great event to show how important organ donation is.
‘This tournament is also a great springboard for the team who are also looking forward to representing Ireland and our donors at the Transplant Football World Cup next September in Germany,” said James.
According to Transplant Sport Ireland, every player on the pitch will be a transplant recipient.
The Ireland squad represents 13 players from counties across the Republic, carrying between them double lung, kidney, liver, heart and bone marrow transplants spanning more than two decades of life-saving operations. Some have received multiple transplants.
The youngest transplant in the squad dates to 2025, the earliest to 1998.
Spectators, families and supporters are welcome throughout the day.
Additional members of the Transplant Sport Ireland community will be present in support.
Transplant Sport Ireland is the National Governing Body for transplant sport in Ireland, affiliated with the Federation of Irish Sport, the World Transplant Games Federation and the European Transplant & Dialysis Sports Federation.
TSI is open to all transplant recipients, those awaiting transplants, living donors, and the families, friends and supporters of those affected by organ donation and transplantation.
Follow Transplant Sport Ireland on Facebook and Instagram.
