Dillon Quirke Foundation features on RTÉs Nationwide programme

The Dillon Quirke Foundation was the topic of Nationwide’s September 10 airing.

The Dillon Quirke Foundation was set up following the tragic passing of Tipperary senior hurler Dillon Quirke in Semple Stadium during a club championship match on August 5, 2022.

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The foundation’s mission is to perform cardiac screenings on young athletes throughout the country, owing to Quirke’s passing from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome.

During the programme, RTÉ spoke with Tipperary hurler Craig Morgan, a close friend of Dillon’s, who met with him for a chat the day before his untimely passing.

Dillon’s Clonoulty Rossmore club faced Craig’s Kilruane McDonagh’s in the County Senior Hurling Championship the following day.

Morgan recounted that he was not originally marking Quirke in the match, however he was quickly moved to mark him once Quirke’s threat on the pitch became apparent.

He outlined his concern for Quirke’s well-being throughout the game, before Quirke began to look visibly weaker than usual, asking Morgan to call on the referee for help.

Morgan held Quirke up, before helping him lie down onto the pitch on his side, as the Kilruane goalkeeper ran towards the referee to get him to stop the game.

The medical team were unfortunately not able to save Dillon, who passed away that day.

Some months later, Dillon’s family founded the Dillon Quirke Foundation, with the hope of aiding parents and their children to identify cardiovascular irregularities.

The programme then switched to the Ahane GAA club in Limerick, the club of hurling great Mick Mackey, to take the viewers through the cardiac screening process undertaken by the Dillon Quirke Foundation.

The programme featured a visit by the All-Ireland-winning Tipperary senior hurling team to the Dillon Quirke GAA grounds in the village of Clonoulty, where captain Ronan Maher outlined the level of respect and admiration he and his team-mates draw from Dillon.

“Dillon has been on all of our minds since his passing and we’ve always carried a big placard of Dillon and put it up in the dressing room before the game and at half time and it's always nice to remember him, so it’s nice to see that there when you’re in the dressing room. He used to be an incredible leader for us over the years and we just wanted to represent him as best as possible and I think when we came out after half time, we put in a good shift for the 35 or 36 minutes that were left, and I think that was him in a nutshell, we represented him really, really well, and this group, like I said, we always have him in the back of our mind. He was a true leader, a true inspiration for everybody, and all the kids around here in Clonoulty Rossmore, and he was just a wonderful human being,” said Maher.

Dillon’s father Dan spoke of the emotions he felt during the championship campaign this year, saying that he and Dillon’s mother Hazel attended the semi-final against Kilkenny, and having found it tough with Dillon’s memory on their minds, they decided not to attend the final.

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Dan outlined the mixed emotions he felt on the day, owing to the fact that he felt Dillon should have been a part of this team, however he was thrilled to see the delight it brought to the players and supporters, and that he was delighted for all of Dillon’s friends on the team.

He also said he was blown away by Ronan Maher’s speech in the Hogan Stand after the game, saying he didn’t expect to hear it, but appreciated the level of respect that the players have for Dillon.

Dan also spoke of the success of the foundation thus far, stating that they had hoped to complete 5,000 screenings in the first year, however as of the time of the broadcast, they had completed just short of 19,000 screenings on young athletes across the country.

The aim of the foundation throughout its five-year plan is to screen 50,000 children screened.

The programme also featured the Quilter family from Co Kerry, who made the trip up to Clonoulty to personally thank Dan and the foundation for saving 17-year-old Tom Quilter’s life, after one of the screenings discovered that he was born with a heart defect, and was subsequently told to stop playing sport immediately.

The screening also helped to discover a medical issue with 13-year-old Ellie Mulhall from Westmeath, who was able to undergo surgery to alleviate her problems and return to playing sport quickly after.

Craig Morgan spoke of his elation to wear the number five jersey in the All-Ireland final, a jersey that has become synonymous with Dillon in recent years.

When asked what he felt Dillon’s legacy was, Morgan said that it was positivity, stating that when he thinks of Dillon, he thinks of a man who always looks at the positive things in life, always has a fun attitude towards things, and always brightens up any situation you find yourself in.

The programme closed with Dan speaking of the pride Dillon would feel in knowing the difference he is making to the lives of thousands of young people across the country, as the foundation named in his honour continues to go from strength to strength.