​Caolan’s friends encourage all to keep giving what they can

​Caolan – or ‘stringer’ as he is known – is a key member of the Crossmaglen Rangers Senior team, but his life changed forever when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in August 2023. He is now in Germany receiving care.

In March, his friends and family set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his expensive treatment, and although close to £160,000 has been raised at the time of writing, it falls short of the £310,000 which is needed.

Organiser Gareth O’Neill wrote an update on the page last Friday, encouraging people to keep giving what they can.

‘Hi Everyone,’ he wrote, ‘As a lot of you know Caolan is into his third week in the private oncology clinic in Germany, he is exhausted due to the intense nature of his treatment but is in good spirits and looking forward to getting home next week. The oncology team are pleased with his progress and have advised that a further three visits to the clinic would be their recommendation.

‘The treatments Caolan has received on this initial visit will cost in the region of £124k , this is more than the estimated amount of £75k which was quoted, as the medical team required additional tests and additional medication to ensure Caolan was receiving the correct treatment. Subsequent visits to Germany will cost in the region of £75k per visit.

‘As you can see the amount of money we have raised through your generous donations and fundraising activities will not be enough to cover the costs of any further treatments. We therefore intend to intensify our efforts to raise the additional funds.

‘We intend to magnify our social media presence and organise a few large fundraisers. If you are in a position to donate additional funds or organise a fundraiser it would be greatly appreciated, contact me directly with any ideas you may have, let as many people as you can know about the appeal.

‘As you are all aware time is not our friend in this situation and the need for funds is urgent and we need to generate momentum to achieve our goal which is a positive outcome for Caolan.

‘The community has shown time and time again that we can overcome the odds to achieve the unthinkable , it’s a huge task but we can and we will be successful in this endeavour.’

If you wish to donate, you can do so at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/care-for-caolan