A camogie player from Kilkenny won a club county title over the weekend - just months after battling cancer.
26-year-old Marianne Walsh from Mooncoin village in the south of the county was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma late last year.
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system where cells grow abnormally and spread.
Thankfully, Marianne completed chemotherapy earlier this year and within five months was competing in the Kilkenny Junior Camogie Championship final against neighbours Piltown, beating them 3-07 to 0-08 in the process.
Speaking to local radio in Kilkenny, Marianne said she continued to train for the first six months of her treatment, challenging herself to get onto the first team.
Marianne pushed her body every week in training – a heroic effort that paid off in the autumn when she broke into Mooncoin's first team.
“So, I said in July, ‘If I got 5 minutes in that county final this year, I would be more than happy', she said.
"To start and get 55 to 60 minutes today has been… It’s been emotional.”
Taking to Facebook, Kilkenny Camogie said: "The lesson to be learned no matter what life throws at you think of this story. A real-life hero, A warrior and an all-time fantastic human.... An inspiration to show people what can be achieved when you put your mind to things and that Cancer won’t beat determination."
Image: Kilkenny GAA, Facebook
