Kidney transplant recipient James to represent Ireland

Kidney transplant recipient James Hannon from Edgeworthstown will travel to Krakow, Poland next month to represent his country as part of Transplant Team Ireland.

The Co Longford athlete’s involvement means the county will be represented in the 8th European Transplant & Dialysis Sports Championships in Poland’s second largest city.

Last weekend, James joined others by attending a team motivational talk given by Dublin Senior Football Manager Jim Gavin.

James has represented Ireland as part of Transplant Team Ireland in previous years. In the forthcoming games in Krakow, the 33-year-old James will participate in the Bowling doubles and mixed doubles events as well as in Darts and Petanque doubles.

The Irish Team, which comprises 25 men and 9 women ranging in age from 16 to 76, includes 29 transplant recipients (5 Liver, 22 Kidney, 1 combined Kidney/Pancreas, 1 Bone Marrow) as well as five people who are presently receiving dialysis treatment.

Judging by the reaction of team manager Colin White, the Edgeworthstown athlete’s work ethic certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“This year sees our largest ever travelling team for a European Championships including ten newcomers,” he said.

“I have great admiration for the motivation shown by all of our team members in preparation for our trip to Poland. Not only have they been training hard for their respective competitions, they also pay the majority of the costs involved.”

For more info visit the Irish team blog at www.transplantteamireland.wordpress.com.