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Sean O'Neill Suzanne O'Neill
round of a lifetime
'He was absolutely thrilled': Tipperary teen with serious heart condition chosen for dream US golf trip
19-year-old Sean O’Neill was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy four years ago.
11.01am, 18 Nov 2018
16.1k
4
“WE FELT THERE had to be something for him. We were just so frustrated that he was having such a difficult time.”
Four years ago, 19-year-old Tipperary native Sean O’Neill received a life-changing diagnosis, which saw the end to his sporting life as he knew it – but at the end of this month, he’ll get the opportunity to head off on a dream golf trip to the US.
Following a routine school screening, and a follow-up trip to Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, it was discovered that O’Neill has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
HCM occurs if the heart muscle cells enlarge and cause the walls of the ventricles to thicken.
At the time, O’Neill was an active hurler and a competitive cyclist. His diagnosis saw an end to these hobbies.
“It was a huge shock. It was huge and it still is,” O’Neill’s mother Suzanne told TheJournal.ie.
“We’re very positive people and we would have always tried to put a positive slant on it, but the challenge for Sean … we live in Tipperary and there would have been a lot of hurling around here. I think it was a huge challenge for Sean,” she said.
‘An electrical storm’
The day after O’Neill’s 18th birthday, he was at home with his mother when he experienced a life-threatening arrhythmia.
He sustained six shocks from his defibrillator, which is inserted in his chest, something his mother described as an “electrical storm”.
“I was lucky I was actually with him. It was a really, really low point for him because the trauma of it alone to be shocked from a defib, it’s very hard,” Suzanne said.
“We just felt that there had to be something for him. We were just so frustrated that he was having such a difficult time,” she added.
It was at this point that O’Neill’s parents made the decision to get him involved in golf, something his doctor at Crumlin had suggested, and paid for lessons for him.
They also began looking into events he could get involved in.
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“We were frantic, really, looking online to see if there was any positive thing that we could apply for or that he could get,” Suzanne said.
Round of a Lifetime
After finding details about the organisation online, they wrote an application to Round of a Lifetime (ROAL) in the US.
The Round of a Lifetime Foundation was established in 2010 to preserve the memory and passion of Andrew Maciey, who passed away from Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy at the age of 24.
The foundation holds a major annual golf tournament, rallies, fundraisers and other outings throughout the year.
Furthermore, it provides golf trips for people who have congenital heart defects.
Earlier this year, the O’Neill family received an email from ROAL to confirm that Sean had been chosen to be a recipient for one of this trips. This is the first time the foundation has chosen somebody from outside of the US to take part.
Next weekend, O’Neill will travel to Florida to play at TPC Sawgrass.
“He was delighted, he was absolutely thrilled,” Suzanne said.
“There was great excitement. It was the excitement of who was going to come with him.”
O’Neill has chosen his father, his neighbour and a friend to travel with him on the trip.
ROAL president Joe Maciey told TheJournal.ie that O’Neill was chosen for the trip “based on not only meeting the criteria of the foundation, but someone who makes a good fit”.
“Sean is our first international recipient and we are so happy to have awarded him a trip to play at TPC Sawgrass in Florida,” Maciey said.
Speaking of what it means to her for O’Neill to have been chosen, his mother said: “He’s had so many negative experiences and so many challenges that we just want him to have a positive experience.
“We’re very, very grateful to the foundation because financially we wouldn’t have been in a position for anything like this.”
Suzanne expressed her gratitude to the doctors at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, the Mater Foundation and ROAL for their support towards Sean over the years.
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20 years in solitary confinement and confined to your cell 23 hours a day – completely barbaric I and 15 minutes to die
by lethal injection- again barbaric !
@Barbara Coleman: just think of the lives it saved keeping him there. Wish we could have done the same with that famous Irish crim / serial kilerr. that only served 10 years of a 15 year sentence.
@Barbara Coleman: don’t really agree with the death penalty but not too concerned about him spending years in solitary confinement. He murdered someone and it’s not supposed to be a holiday camp. Maybe if this happened here, it might act as some kind of deterrent. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.
@Garreth mc mahon: All of the acts are barbaric. The point being one of them is state sponsored barbarism administered to shown how wrong barbarism is. Its a bit of a contradiction in terms, apart from that it’s an easy way out for animals like that.
@Colleen:if the death penalty acted as a deterrent then the US wouldn’t have such a high rate of violent death and nor would it have the highest rate of incarceration in the entire world.
@EillieEs: You are put in solitary confinement for a reason, either you are a danger to other inmates/staff or for your own protection. Remember, this was not a nice guy, that is a fact, you think the day he got locked up he became a complete pacifist?
@Alan Wright: 20 years come on, most corrupt police force, its nothing to do with protecting one of their own. I DON’T CONDONE his crimes. But how many innocent people have been out to death in the states. How many convictions over turned years later, esp against black people. Maybe if they dealth with gun laws, they might not have a need for death penalty. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
Great job fair play to the authorities, he was on death row for years then they carried out the rule of court executed him, he had it coming unlike his victim who was just doing his job.
Why do so many forget that there is a victim and a family involved here, when they decide that this is wrong and break out the hankies
@sean o’dhubhghaill: It does not matter what you are I think. Texas has that law in place for a reason so its up to them to change it. I notice how there is no mention of the US President who is apparently against the death penalty. If they wanted to grant him clemency they could have but he was rejected by the parole board.
Imagine for one minute if President Trump was still in office. The Irish media would be all over this and would really be laying into him today. But yet not a peep from any of the Major news outlets here about this. I suppose they have a friend in the White House now so it wouldn’t be seen as conforming to upset the current administration.
@Maurice O Neill: not a peep from any major Irish news outlet? Wow that is absolutely untrue, it’s reported in everything from RTE to the Irish Independent to the Mirror and you’re commenting on an article on it here on the Journal. Why lie about something so easily debunked? It just makes you look untrustworthy
@Eamonn O’Hanrahan: So in your opinion the people who gave carried out the legally sanctioned injection are more evil than a man who sexually assaulted a minor and killed a police offer? Seriously?
@Geoff Bateman: almost as barbaric as the poor innocent child having to live their entire life with the knowledge that they had been sexually abused by a monster.
Monsters deserved to d i e. Slowly.
I’m always torn by this. My head tells me it’s wrong, but my heart always pipes up as to why tax payers should contribute to the upkeep of these people in prison. Plus an eye for an eye and all that. Grateful I don’t actually have to make the decision.
@Paul Flynn: I’m sure there are quite a number of people who were acquitted years later with the dawning of new forensic technology who would disagree with you………
@Conor Furlong: Where is your condemnation for the vile crimínal that put himself in this position for murdèring and innocent cop and abuse of a child. Your concern for criminals really shows your character. You could’ve condemned both in your post, but sided with the evil criminal.
They would have been better off killing him 20 years ago, think of all that TAX payer’s money they would have saved. After 20 years locked away from everyone, and being old, death would be a doddle. Saying I’m ready to go, rather than begging for forgiveness, takes the good out of it for his family.
The United States and it’s people must be very proud to be able to keep someone in solitary confinement for 20 years and then execute an old age pensioner. Torture followed by execution. How can they be allowed to lecture the rest of the world? It is a very sick society but unfortunately they are not even aware of it.
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