Charlie Ryan from St Mary’s Place has been enjoying a new lease of life since undergoing a liver transplant just over one year ago. “I was sick for two or three years before I got my transplant but I am feeling fantastic now and I am really looking forward to the Games,” said the active 63-year-old.

The European Transplant and Dialysis Games take place in Würzburg and run from Sunday, August 31, until Sunday, September 7.

“I was very sporty when I was younger. I played basketball and had trials for Munster and Ireland, I played soccer and hurling for Cobh and did a bit of boxing. Pitch and putt and darts are my main sports now,” he said.

In 1985 he won the Guinness Sports Star of the Year award for Pitch and Putt.

“I am training every day and I play in The Quarry Cock bar." Seven friends from the bar, including the owner, will travel over to Germany for a few days to see Charlie competing.

But he stresses that the games are an opportunity to give thanks for the gift of his transplant. “I am not going over to win. I am going for the fun and enjoyment but I am hoping to pick up a medal. If the training I have been doing is anything to go by then I should,” he said.

“I have been very sporty all through life and I would try any sport at all,” added the darts fanatic, who would like to compete for Ireland in pitch and putt at the World Transplant Games next year.

“I have been at sea since I was 17 but I finished up last year before I had the transplant,” said Charlie, who worked as a skipper on the boat that brought prisoners on the boat out to Spike Island.

The European Transplant and Dialysis Games aim to highlight the importance of organ donation and promote the idea of healthy living through sport. They also allow the athletes an opportunity to give thanks for the gift of their transplants.

Last year 23 Irish athletes, all of whom have had transplants, travelled to Thailand to compete in the World Transplant Games and took home an unprecedented 39 medals. In 2010 Ireland will host the 6th European Transplant and Dialysis Games in Dublin. “I think I will retire after that,” laughed Charlie.

After he returns from the European Games in Germany Charlie will take a well-earned break when he travels to America for a fortnight to visit his sister.

Log onto www.transplantteamireland.com to follow the team’s progress. For Organ Donor Cards freetext the word DONOR to 50050 or visit the Irish Kidney Association website www.ika.ie