Former Galway hurler Éanna Ryan is currently preparing to run one of the world’s hardest endurance events honouring his late uncle lost to a rare cancer.
Sport has always been part of the life of the 41-year-old. He played hurling for his local club in Killimordaly, where his uncle and namesake won the All-Ireland finals with the Galway team.
Until recently, running was never up Éanna’s alley.
“Since I was 17, I’d probably go to the gym weekly, but I absolutely hated running if I’m being honest”, Éanna recalled.
That changed after he completed an elite training programme with Damien Browne, the first man to row across the Atlantic from New York to Galway in just 112 days.
“I loved everything about it”, Éanna explained.
“It’s just crazy what the body can do if you get control of your mind. Then I just thought I should start taking on things that I don’t like, and running is one of them.
I did 5kms, I did 10kms, then you get to 15kms and all of a sudden I did a half marathon with my sister one random weekend.”
Currently, Éanna trains 12 to 14 hours every week to prepare for the Marathon des Sables, an ultramarathon across the Sahara Desert in April next year.
The 250-kilometre-long route consists of six stages, the longest being 100 kilometres.
“That’s going to be tough. At that point, you are deciding ‘do I sleep or do I keep going?’”, Éanna explains.
This run is not just about challenging his physique. It’s also about honouring his late uncle, Iggy Daly, who passed away in July 2025 from the rare bile duct cancer, Cholangiocarcinoma.
Éanna describes Iggy as “the brightest character” and the “life and soul” of any gathering. He passed away just weeks after his diagnosis.
Bile duct cancer awareness
The swift loss of his uncle is the main motivation behind Éanna’s efforts to raise both money and awareness for Cholangiocarcinoma Ireland.
The non-profit organisation has three main goals: provide information and support for those affected, raise awareness, and advocate for a screening process to facilitate early detection.
Karen Dunne co-founded the organisation with the late James Hastings, who recently passed away with the cancer himself.
It is a rare but highly aggressive cancer, affecting approximately 200 people every year in Ireland.
“It’s generally not caught until the later stages”, Karen explained.
The initial symptoms include tiredness, itchy skin or abdominal pain, and are very vague. On their own, they don’t seem serious, which often contributes to a delayed diagnosis.
At the moment, chemotherapy with immunotherapy is the frontline treatment in Ireland.
When Karen’s late husband, Kierran, was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma, there were no support groups in Ireland.
“It was really, really difficult to find any information on it”, Karen recalled.
That is why Éanna’s fundraising is essential for Cholangiocarcinoma Ireland.
The former hurler is hoping to raise €50,000, to help the organisation on its way and support cancer research.
“It would just be unbelievably cool to be crossing the line, hopefully with an Irish flag, have a picture of Iggy with me, and to have 50 grand in the kitty.” Éanna said. You can follow Éanna’s intense training journey on his Instagram page and donate and support “Run for Iggy” here.
