Resilient boy with leukaemia has Limerick hurlers in his corner

A SEVEN-year-old boy with leukaemia is demonstrating the fighting spirit of his sporting heroes - the Limerick hurlers - after joining them for a training session and receiving an uplifting video from one of the team's stars.

Croom native, Noah Twomey, was diagnosed with leukaemia two weeks before Christmas 2023. Since then, he has been undergoing painful treatments.

On this difficult journey, the little boy spent time with the Limerick hurlers, who have been rooting for him - including wing-back Kyle Hayes, who sent him an encouraging video.

Back in March, the “Limerick-mad” fan even got to go on a training session in Mick Neville Park in Rathkeale.

“They brought him in for a training session. He saw the players, got some photos, with the Limerick team, especially with Kyle Hayes and Darragh O'Donovan. He loves it, he absolutely loves it,” said Noah’s dad, Robert.

Kyle Hayes reminded Noah he was “well able” to face this battle. “I'll be rooting for you the whole time, I'll be in your corner. I know you're a fighter, you're tough out, and you'll be well able for this. You have the support of all your family and friends, and all of us as well,” Kyle told Noah in a video clip.

As Noah was scared to take his tablets, the All-Ireland winner shared his “gummy bear” advice. “I know the tablets are very difficult to take sometimes, I was the same at your age,” Kyle explained.

“What really helped me was to close my eyes, pretend it's a wine gum or a gummy bear and just swallow it with a bit of water.
“You have to take them, they’re very very, very important,” said Kyle.

A piece of advice welcomed by Noah's dad, who said it helped when he was in the hospital.

“He got to know the Limerick players on a personal level. When he was really sick in the hospital in Dublin and wouldn't take his tablets, the video messages really helped us along the way,” said Robert.

After suffering from unexpected complications due to the severity of the chemotherapy, Noah recently got a bone marrow transplant in St John’s Ward in Dublin's Crumlin Hospital, and is now doing better.

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Robert said his son has shown “unbelievable resilience” at such a young age. “He's cancer free at the moment, it feels like his bone marrow is starting to kick in,” said Robert. “His first bone marrow transplant gave him another month. Within that month, he had built himself up.”

Speaking of Noah’s condition, his father said: “He’s got a bit of graft versus host disease (GvHD), so it's where the old immune system recognises the new immune system as a foreign body. All the doctors are happy with his levels at the moment and he got released. He won't be going to school next year because he has no immune system, we've got to wait for his immune system to build up.”

From the hurling pitch to hospital wards, nothing has kept Noah from rocking his favourite green jersey.

“He would have been taught hurling as a young man at home, he would have picked it up at the club in Croom,” said Robert.

“When he went to his first All-Ireland Final, he just got the bug for hurling. It was just the atmosphere. This year, he wouldn’t have been to any of the games because he was sick.”