If you ask any Irish man to name their toughest compatriot, most of them would probably reach for the four myth-like syllables of Paul O’Connell.
Famed for his manic aggression, revered for his unbreakable stature, and loved for his refusal to accept injury – always trying to stand when his body was telling him he had no chance – Paul O’Connell is the quintessential Irish warrior.
When he developed his friendship with Donal Walsh though, he quickly learned who the real tough guy in that relationship was.
The Kerry teenager sadly passed away in 2013 but not before he formed a special bond with the former Irish captain and not before he delivered his inspirational message of Live Life, appealing to those considering suicide to think of people like him who never would get the chance to carry on living his wonderful life.
In his new book, The Battle, O’Connell details some of the touching moments he shared with young Walsh, right to the very end.
He also talks about how the teenage cancer patient looked up to Lance Armstrong but that he didn’t want the 16-year-old putting his faith in the wrong area.
“When I tore my medial ligament, my friendship with Donal helped me to keep the frustration in perspective. His cancer had returned around the same time. They took away half his lung and he had more chemo,” O’Connell writes.
“In the middle of it all, he sent me a text about my injury and it made me laugh. People tried to say the right thing whenever I was injured, but usually it was better to say nothing. Donal was different – he just had a great way about him.
“We used to disagree about Lance Armstrong. He loved Lance’s book. He believed in the fairytale about the cancer survivor who came back to win clean. Maybe I should have said nothing and let him believe, but I kept telling him the fairytale wasn’t true.
“It bothered me that he was putting his faith in someone who didn’t deserve to be a role model, but Donal needed to believe in somebody. He had to drive his strength from somewhere.
“‘He’s never failed a drugs test. He was just better than the rest of them. He wouldn’t cheat after beating cancer.’
“Donal was a genuine hero. By the time of Armstrong’s doping confession, he had already come through two bouts of cancer, but it was back for a third time. He had tumours in six places. I told him he should be writing his own book, the story of the boy who beat cancer three times. I said that after he’d written his bestseller, we’d go on the speaking circuit together. But I knew he was finding it harder.”
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In the end, Walsh passed but not after touching the lives of the entire country and one of its most famous sons.
As he was in Australia with the Lions, O’Connell was not there to help carry his coffin on the day of the funeral. It is an episode that will always sadden him. But a relationship that will forever enlighten him.
“I was desperately sad to get the phone call from his dad, Fionnbar, that Sunday night, just after he’d slipped away,” the Limerick native explained.
“I told him it would be a comfort to his parents to remember how brave he had been. I remember chatting to him on the phone one day while I was driving home from training in Cork, asking him what he was up to.
“He said he was writing a lot, listing out all his cherished memories to make sure his family knew he’d a fantastic life, even though he was only 16.”
In the end, it was Donal Walsh – even at his tender age – that ended up being the role model. A role model and a true inspiration to millions.
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