‘Dónal was a fighter who always found a way’

“Dónal Walsh saw beauty everywhere around him. The beauty of the world the rest of us had chosen to ignore and not appreciate.”

That moving tribute to the inspirational 16-year-old Tralee student, from his PE teacher Ruairí O’Rahilly, was just one of thousands paid after he lost his long battle with cancer.

Writing in today’s Irish Examiner, Mr O’Rahilly, who brought Dónal to the nation’s attention after he nominated him for a bravery award, said despite being dealt a cruel hand at the age of 12 when first diagnosed, Dónal was never angry, and never wallowed in self-pity.