Ireland won a whopping 42 medals at the 5^th European Transplant & Dialysis Games in September – and, for the first time ever, the team had their own physio as part of their entourage.

Clare Hogan, a physio at Cork University Hospital who also practices at Fermoy Physiotherapy Clinic, travelled with the 22-strong Irish team to the Games held in Wurzburg, Germany.

“It was a wonderful experience, a great opportunity to work with an international team taking part in games of that intensity,” said Clare, a native of Fermoy.

“I was delighted to be given the chance to work with the team. It was quite demanding because the athletes were all taking part in five events, and many needed regular treatment for ailments during the week.

“The feedback from the athletes was that having a physio on site helped them in their preparations.”

Said athlete John Loftus: “It was great that Clare came along with the team. I tweaked a hamstring after the 4x100m relay race, but, thanks to Clare’s intervention, I made a quick recovery.”

The main purpose of the European Transplant & Dialysis Games is to spread the gospel of organ donation.

“There is a lot of research which shows that exercise can be of huge benefit to dialysis patients,” said Clare, who works with dialysis patients at the hospital’s renal units.

“There were three dialysis patients on the team – Darren Cawley, Chikoyo White and Peter Heffernan – and all three won medals.”

Log onto www.transplantteamireland.com to read more about the team.

For Organ Donor Cards freetext the word DONOR to 50050 or visit the Irish Kidney Association website www.ika.ie