By John Harrington

If you’re looking for affirmation of the innate goodness of people, then you should check out the Do it For Dan GoFundMe fundraising page or the hashtag #DoItForDan on Twitter.

Dan Donoher is the 14-month-old son of former Laois county footballers Niall Donoher and Sarah Quigley who last December was diagnosed with a rare genetic neuromuscular disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1and Scoliosis.

Essentially it is a muscle-wasting disease which has already robbed Dan of his ability to lift his legs, maintain head control, and lie on his belly.

And because his muscles are too weak for a strong cough, mucus can get trapped in his lungs which makes breathing more difficult for him and a common cold life-threatening.

The life expectancy of a SMA type 1 child is 18-24 months, but there is now a ground-breaking once-off infusion treatment called Zolgensma which can substantially improve the quality of life and survival of the disease.

The only problem is that it costs roughly €2Million and is only available in the USA.

Can you imagine the emotional torture of being told there was a life-changing treatment available for your seriously sick child but it would cost such an unimaginable amount of money?

What has happened since Niall and Sarah got that news has been nothing short of remarkable.

A fund-raising committee was formed and headed up by Sarah’s brother, former Laois footballer Brendan Quigley, and in little over a month has already raised roughly half the money they need.

“When we got the news it was horrible and then we found out about this treatment that was out there but it was €2.1Million,” Quigley told GAA.ie

“We were thinking it would be a long-shot to try to raise that money but you have to go at it. I had seen that a family over in Hungary had the same thing and they had a fundraiser and came up with the money so I just said to myself if they could do it then why can't we do it. We had to try it.

“Laois GAA helped us out at the start and once one or two fundraisers got going the story got out and people got to see the story which pulls at the heart-strings.

“The whole community of Laois started getting behind it and it has snowballed around the country at this stage.

“Kieran Donaghy has got behind it in Kerry, the Kildare lads are fundraising, the Monaghan ladies are fundraising, there's people in Galway fundraising, it has literally gone all over the country.

“On the Go Fund Me it's around €750,000 at the moment but when you take into account the money raised by other fund-raisers it's close to a million euros now.

“We started fundraising on March 6th so in the space of 40-something days we've raised around one million euros. It's quite incredible.”

In the same way that the COVID-19 health crisis has vividly illustrated the community ethos of the GAA, so too has the response to the #DoItForDan fundraising appeal.

Laois county players are shaving or dying their hair to raise significant sums of money, Ireland football team captain Seamus Coleman gave a personal donation of €15,000, Kieran Donaghy has personally raised over €10,000 already, while boxer Eric Donovan is hoping to raise €5,000 with a five-hour skipping challenge.

They're just a few of the higher-profile examples of fund-raising. The engine that is really driving the fundraising is huge number of people nationwide, almost 22 thousand on the GoFundMe page alone, who have generously donated to the cause.

The wider GAA community especially has rallied around their own, and both Niall and Sarah are hugely appreciative of all everyone is doing to help them.

“When we started this at the start it was going to have to be GAA-driven,” says Quigley.

“Niall would have played with Laois for over 10 years and we knew that the GAA would be the main factor that could get this to where it is now. That's after what's happening.

“But it hasn't only been the GAA. The amount of people from all sorts of backgrounds, not just sporting, has been incredible.

“And the things people are doing to raise money has been remarkable. I think one lady has raised €15,000 from raffling one hand-bag.

“You have soccer clubs doing poker tournaments, someone else is organising a lip-sync competition, I think there are currently over 100 fund-raisers going on at the minute. It's quite incredible.

“When this COVID-19 thing came in we were thinking it would be a disaster to fund-raising, but it's actually gotten people thinking and some of the ideas they've come up with have been remarkable.

“But the GAA community has been just huge in how it has responded. It's what the GAA is all about, really. The power of it to raise a million euros in forty-odd days. Amazing.

“When we started this we were wondering how the hell we'd be able to raise the money we need, but now we have literally thousands of people helping us.

“It's been an emotional roller-coaster for Niall and Sarah. To see so many people helding their little boy is just overwhelming for them. They're hugely appreciative of it.

“Even someone like Seamus Coleman ringing them and texting them to wish them well. To see big names like him and Kieran Donaghy going out of their way to help has been incredible.

“It's making life a little bit easier for them to see the support they are getting from people all around the country given the circumstances and situation they are in.”

The fund-raising has come a long way in a short period of time, but the Donoher family are still only half-way to where they need to get to and are racing against time.

Dan is 14-months old now and his window of opportunity to receive the treatment he needs is closing with every passing week.

“Dan has to get the drug before he's two,” explains Quigley. “I'm not quite sure of the ins and the outs of the medical side of things and why that's the case, but that's just the timeline we have to work with.

“We're only half-way there at the minute, but I always felt that if we could get to a million it would be done because you can't get that far and not get the rest of the day.

“Whatever it takes at this stage, I've no doubt in my mind we'll get to the figure we need to get to.”

If you would like to contribute to the DoItForDan fundraiser, you can do so HERE.