Mike Quirke: Like Donal Walsh, live life and take joy from what you do, because nothing is guaranteed

Last Sunday, I spent a few hours out in Spa national school, a beautiful setting overlooking Tralee bay glistening with the bright sunshine bouncing off the water. There were hundreds out there supporting their annual fundraiser in aid of former student Donal Wash. And it got me thinking about him again.

Donal was the young guy from just outside Tralee who was like every other kid his age. He played his football with Kerins O’Rahilly’s and loved representing Tralee rugby club with the oval ball.

In 2008 life changed, he was diagnosed with Osteo Sarcoma (a bone cancer) at the age of 12. Soon after, he endured a knee replacement surgery, and nine long months of chemotherapy before getting back on the field, not as a player - that dream was gone - but as a coach who inspired his teams from the sidelines.