Many of you will be familiar with O’Connor Lyne who was among the very first young hockey players produced by the IIHA, way back in the nineties at the Silver Skate Ice Rink in Phibsborough under Coach Robbie Byrne. “Occie”, as he came to be known was a member of the very first IIHF recognized team to represent us in international competition at any level and went on to play a major part in successive senior Team Ireland squads.
Some of you might also remember Mrs. Moira Lyne who was elected to the executive and is responsible, among other things, for giving us our Child Protection Policies and encouraging a greater emphasis on Women’s Hockey. Few of you will be familiar with their respective brother and son, Sean Lyne.
Sean is just nineteen, sports mad, a fluent Irish speaker, an enthusiastic member of Dail na N’og a body set up by the Government to represent youth, and advise on policy from a youth perspective. He was studying nursing, and coaching junior hurling when he discovered he was having problems with his vision and co-ordination of his left side. He was sent to Dublin’s Eye and Ear hospital and was immediately referred to St. Luke’s where he was diagnosed with a strain of Brain Cancer called “Glioma Astrocytoma”, a six inch tumour on his spinal chord that is pressing on his optic nerve and affecting more and more of his left side, and as a result he is forced to use a wheel chair.
Sean’s Mum Moira is a qualified nurse, and, as well as tending to Sean, she has thoroughly researched this condition and has discovered a clinic in Houston Texas that specialises in, and is working on treatments for, this specific cancer. As you can imagine bringing Sean to the States for up to a year of clinical trials, and treatment, is a huge undertaking, and not least among the family’s concerns is the financial burden involved.
The Lynes have been involved with many sporting organisations over the years, St. Kevin’s Hurling and Camogie Club , Rialto Association Football Club, and of course the IIHA, and have asked for our help in raising funds for this worthy cause. Sean’s fellow student nurses are bag packing in Tesco, Ballyfermot for the rest of this week. The G.A.A. have given permission and the Guards’ approval is pending for a bucket collection in Dublin city centre and the approach roads to Croke Park on Sept.18th. – All Ireland Sunday. Volunteers are urgently required to assist with this collection and you can help by contacting us at office@iiha.org and offering to give an hour or two of your time on that day. You will then be contacted with more information. You might have seen Sean’s case highlighted during the week in an article in the Evening Herald and many fund raising ventures are also on the cards, and we will provide details, here on this site, as we get them.
A Facebook page “Funds for Sean” has been set up by a friend which will also give you more information. Further information may also be found on the website for Kevin’s Hurling & Camogie Club (www.kevins.ie).
Time is of the essence in halting the progress of this tumour so a major push is planned for all of September. Donations can be made to
A/C Name : Sean Lyne Cancer Treatment Fund.
Branch : Bank of Ireland, Camden Street, Dublin.
Sort Code : 90-01-13.
Account : 87783676.
PLEASE ASSIST US TO GIVE SEAN A SPORTING CHANCE.