Support a Tipperary man battling a rare disease
GoFundMe page for father-of-two
A FUNDRAISING campaign has been launched to support a young Tipperary family after father of two, Declan (Denis) O’Halloran was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a rare and progressive neurological disease.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by the Friends of Declan, who received the devastating diagnosis in late May.
Thirty-nine-year-old Declan, from Newcastle, was initially diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) while living in Australia before returning home to Ireland in 2022.
Declan had been living in Australia since 2008, where he met his wife Joanne Kenneally from Midleton, Co Cork. They had always planned to return to Ireland and set up home for their two children, Ava, aged 5 and Levi, aged 3, but life took a cruel turn.
They had obtained planning permission and saved for their move home but now with a diagnosis of a neurological disease, Declan and Joanne were unable to obtain life insurance or a mortgage, making their plans much more difficult as they were also unable to access housing supports.
A spokesperson said: “Declan had hoped that with treatment everything would get back to normal and so he began a self-build project, using their savings and financial support from family, however, during that time, Declan’s symptoms began to get worse which meant he could no longer work and on May 29, 2024, things took a cruel turn and Declan was given the devastating diagnosis of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA).”
MSA is a rare and progressive neurological disorder and affects about 4.5 people per 100,000 so that at any one time there are only approximately 3,300 people living with MSA in the UK and Ireland, meaning even many healthcare professionals are often unfamiliar with the condition.
Unfortunately, there is currently no cure or specific treatment to modify disease progression for MSA and it comes with a short life expectancy of approximately 10 years from the onset of symptoms. This diagnosis has been devasting for Declan and all of his family.
“Declan and Joanne have tried to continue building their home through the financial support of family. However, with the increased cost of building, and with his health deteriorating and inability to finance the build, it has become increasingly difficult for Declan to continue working on his home and the stress and strain of the project is taking its toll on him and his family.
“This has been devastating for Declan as he has poured his heart and soul into building this home for his family. The house is partially built but they now need help to complete their home with the additional need for the house to be adapted for his future management of symptoms. Time is of the essence as they are currently renting a home which is no longer suitable for Declan's needs.”
The friends and family of Declan and Joanne have come together to help them finish their home.
They hope to raise sufficient funds to complete the house as soon as possible making sure that it is suitable to Declan’s needs going forward so that he can enjoy life together with his young family in their home for as long as possible. The funds will also go towards the ongoing and future medical expenses that Declan has.
Declan and Joanne and the Do it for Declan Fundraising Committee have been overwhelmed with the generosity since the Go fund me was launched with just over €100,000 raised in the first week, along with fantastic offers of physical labour. A number of events are being planned with a raffle of a bike and motorbike ride out taking place in Newcastle on October 20. This event will be very fitting as Declan, a keen motorbike enthusiast has offered up his bike to raffle in order to raise funds for his home.
The weekend will also mark Declan’s 40th birthday so we hope that we can give him the best ever birthday present by raising sufficient funds to complete the build. For more information and follow our Facebook and Instagram pages at Do it for Declan.
The Go Fund me can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/doitfordeclan.