Danny O’Connor was remembered as his two former teams Crossabeg and Transplant Football Ireland faced off
The brother of a popular Wexford man who died in October at the age of 37 following a cancer battle has hailed the amazing way the community got behind a charity football match between the family’s home club Crossabeg and the Transplant Football Ireland (TFI) team.
“The turnout was amazing,” said Danny O’Connor’s brother Sean, who credits Crossabeg’s Johnny Coughlan with much of the work to make it a success.
“The game itself went by perfectly. It was really nice. The Transplant team were lovely, they’re from all over Ireland, and they had one guy from Wexford. They didn’t have enough players, so some of us played with them.
“I played up front. I played with both teams. The first half I played with the Transplant team and then the second half with Crossabeg. The Transplant team are a different kind of team dynamic where you’re losing lads throughout the year to death and their illnesses.
“Their manager said in the last year or so they’ve lost three lads, but not just lost them as a normal club would with retirement or injury, these lads have sadly passed away.”
In 2012 Danny was rushed to Wexford General after he collapsed while working in the Ferrycarrig Hotel. Doctors in Wexford General Hospital put him on blood thinners after determining that he had a heart attack at the age of 23.
He was sent straight to St. Vincent’s, and it was discovered that Danny had blood clots in his leg due to a sarcoma on his heart. He made a great recovery after heart surgery and chemo until 2014 when he had a stroke.
Again, he battled hard and made another great recovery. When he was ready to go back to work, he got a job in Wexford Auto Factors and worked happily until 2021.
During the summer of 2021 he started to lose energy and became unwell. Following treatment at the Mater Hospital, it was determined that he was suffering from heart failure as a consequence of the surgery and chemo years earlier.
Thankfully, Danny was successfully matched with a donor and received a heart transplant in October, working hard to be home with his family by Christmas.
Nearly a year later he joined the TFI football team. They competed in British and World Transplant games and the Transplant World Cup in 2024.
Sadly, Danny didn’t get to play with the team too long, because in 2023 he developed a sarcoma on his hip. But he stayed involved and served as TFI treasurer and worked hard to be fit and ready for his wedding later that year.
“Danny was such a positive person and as his brother a true inspiration to me, his children, our family, his friends, his parish, the transplant community and anyone else that had the pleasure of knowing him. His strong mental outlook never wavered during any of these horrific events. He was always focused on getting back to his family,” Sean concluded.