Eamonn was diagnosed with a high-grade astrocytoma close to the area of his brain responsible for language after experiencing unexpected mood changes and slight anxiety. As someone in tune with his health, he booked a check-up with his GP, who sent him for scans. Despite standard treatment, Eammon passed away two years later, aged 31, just four months after marrying his beloved Sarah.
Here is Eamonn’s story as told by his wife Sarah…
A senior orthoptist, Eamonn grew up in Bellshill, near Glasgow in Scotland, where his parents Joe and Therese and sister Ciara and brother-in-law Andrew still live. Every year during the summer holidays, the family would go to Dundalk in Ireland to spend time in Eamonn’s maternal grandmother’s ancestral home with their wider family.
He felt deeply connected to Irish culture, particularly musically, and was very close to his grandfather, who made hammer dulcimers, a stringed instrument in Celtic music. It was, perhaps, no surprise that Eamonn became a talented musician, playing the bodhrán – a traditional Irish drum – and even participating at various Fleadhs (a Fleadh is an annual Irish arts festival and competition) and in traditional Irish music competitions, where he made so many life-long friends.
Eamonn moved to Galway in 2016, aged 23, for both the music scene and to begin a work placement in Galway University Hospital Eye Department. A couple of years later, I was with friends who also happened to be colleagues of Eamonn’s when we met for the first time at a bar in Galway, where he was playing his bodhrán. We seemed so natural together right from the start; it was easy and felt right. I remember later showing him videos on my phone that first night we met, of him on stage, playing music.
The following year, we moved in together and always had lots of great plans for after a hard day at work, as well as for weekends and holidays. We enjoyed cooking nice meals together and soaking up whatever Galway and beyond had to offer. We have a wonderful circle of good friends and family.
We would also regularly go to visit Eamonn’s relatives in Scotland – he was very close to his family. They would also come over and we shared great memories of their visits to see us too. We had talked about one day maybe having a family of our own, if we were lucky, but only when and if the time was right.
In 2022, Eamonn began to notice that he would sometimes, unexpectedly, experience mood changes and start to feel anxious, to a level more than you would expect from the normal stresses of life. He tried various techniques to alleviate his anxiety, including journaling. Then he also had episodes of suddenly going completely blank for two or three seconds while he was in the middle of listening to someone speaking to him. He also felt ‘goosebumps’ down one side of his body from his shoulder down into his arm.
He went to the GP in November that year and, coincidentally, had a similar episode of going blank during his appointment. It alerted the GP enough to send Eamonn for a scan, which revealed inflammation in his brain. A subsequent MRI scan uncovered tumours in his brain located close to the language centre.
Eamonn had a week preparing for surgery at the Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, before undergoing an awake craniotomy, which successfully removed the majority of the tumour, later revealed as a grade 4 astrocytoma. It was a big relief, after the operation, that Eamonn was still able to communicate.
Two days after surgery, Eamonn had a bleed on the brain – I’d noticed that he hadn’t been as coherent via the messages he would text me. The bleed was resolved and Eamonn was discharged from hospital at the beginning of December. He had six weeks of recovery and then started the Stupp protocol for glioblastoma and high-grade astrocytoma patients of temozolomide chemotherapy and radiotherapy. He finished that treatment in March and then began further chemotherapy.
Eamonn tolerated his treatment well and always did the right thing. Being a scientific person, he did lots of research and believed his body should be at its optimum to give him the best chance. It led him to follow a high-protein and low-sugar diet, have plenty of sleep and rest, stay active by taking walks and, of course, maintain a positive mindset. Above all, Eamonn spent as much time as possible with people he loved. Maybe all this contributed to him not suffering symptoms and side effects while he was on treatment.
Eamonn had a very strong faith in God and was determined to be positive. He was very charitable, even after his diagnosis, and desperately wanted other people not to be in his situation. Across various charity fundraising campaigns, Eamonn helped to raise more than €15,000.
In March 2023, after medics had given Eamonn clearance to fly again, we headed back to Scotland for the first of a few visits Eamonn made since his diagnosis.
It wasn’t until a year later that Eamonn developed signs of his disease, experiencing nausea Eamonn for a scan, which revealed inflammation in his brain. A subsequent MRI scan uncovered tumours in his brain located close to the language centre.
Eamonn had a week preparing for surgery at the Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, before undergoing an awake craniotomy, which successfully removed the majority of the tumour, later revealed as a grade 4 astrocytoma. It was a big relief, after the operation, that Eamonn was still able to communicate.
Two days after surgery, Eamonn had a bleed on the brain – I’d noticed that he hadn’t been as coherent via the messages he would text me. The bleed was resolved and Eamonn was discharged from hospital at the beginning of December. He had six weeks of recovery and then started the Stupp protocol for glioblastoma and high-grade astrocytoma patients of temozolomide chemotherapy and radiotherapy. He finished that treatment in March and then began further chemotherapy.
Eamonn tolerated his treatment well and always did the right thing. Being a scientific person, he did lots of research and believed his body should be at its optimum to give him the best chance. It led him to follow a high-protein and low-sugar diet, have plenty of sleep and rest, stay active by taking walks and, of course, maintain a positive mindset. Above all, Eamonn spent as much time as possible with people he loved. Maybe all this contributed to him not suffering symptoms and side effects while he was on treatment.
Eamonn had a very strong faith in God and was determined to be positive. He was very charitable, even after his diagnosis, and desperately wanted other people not to be in his situation. Across various charity fundraising campaigns, Eamonn helped to raise more than €15,000.
In March 2023, after medics had given Eamonn clearance to fly again, we headed back to Scotland for the first of a few visits Eamonn made since his diagnosis.
It wasn’t until a year later that Eamonn developed signs of his disease, experiencing nausea and vomiting before a flight back to Ireland. He also began to have double vision throughout the summer of 2024, which he was able to alleviate by using different lenses, a technique he was no stranger to implementing in his professional life.
Further MRI scans yielded no signs of significant progression, but we were told that radiation necrosis was visible.
We celebrated the marriage of Eamonn’s sister Ciara to Andrew in May 2024 in Scotland, surrounded by their wide circle of loving family and friends.
We decided to get married while Eamonn was still well and managed to arrange it in six weeks. Just before the big day on 19 July 2024, with just nine guests – all immediate family – Eamonn and I learned from a scan that the tumour was possibly growing, in addition to necrosis.
Later, in the weeks that followed, Eamonn seemed to decline quite quickly, losing his mobility, despite avastin and another form of chemotherapy, to try to alleviate his symptoms.
Eamonn managed a last trip back to Scotland in September for just a few days to visit family. Upon his return, his condition further deteriorated and Eamonn received care from me, his family and dedicated professionals.
We had amazing community healthcare support and the GP was excellent, allowing Eamonn to have a good quality of life through physiotherapy, occupational therapy and a hospice team coming to our home – Eamonn wanted to remain at home if at all possible.
I was keen to honour his wishes and I am thankful we were able to facilitate his preference to be at home at the end of his life.
Eamonn passed away on 30 October 2024, having planned some of the songs and music performed by musicians who were friends and relatives for his funeral. His personal mantra had been ‘At the end of the storm, the golden sky awaits’
Eamonn wanted his legacy to bring hope for people diagnosed with a brain tumour in the future, which is why Ciara and I have set up Eamonn’s Vision, a Fundraising Group under the umbrella of Brain Tumour Research, to help find more effective treatments and ultimately a cure for this terrible disease.
In the months before Eamonn passed away, he created an album called The Waiting Room, which consisted of some of Eamonn’s favourite recordings of traditional Irish music he had played on, which he sold to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research and Brain Tumour Ireland.
His Scottish family has taken part in the Motherwell Walk of Hope for the last few years, among many other fundraising campaigns, which include the zipline across the Clyde in Glasgow and 10,000 Steps a Day. They have also asked for donations to Brain Tumour Research in lieu of gifts; for example, at weddings, birthdays and milestone wedding anniversaries.
Raising awareness about brain tumours, which kill more children and adults under the age of 40 (Eamonn was 31) than any other cancer, is also very high on our list of priorities.
Sarah Groonell
February 2026
One in three people in the UK knows someone affected by a brain tumour. This disease is indiscriminate; it can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.
Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this.
If you have been touched by Eamonn’s story, you may like to make a donation via www.braintumourresearch.org/donate or leave a gift in your will via www.braintumourresearch.org/legacy
Together we will find a cure.
