For International Epilepsy Day 2025, Daragh has shared this piece reflecting on his journey with epilepsy...
I was ten when I had my first seizure.
I had lived a perfectly normal and healthy life up to that point. There was nothing out of the ordinary, no head knocks or concussions that may have forecasted neurological issues in my future.
Nevertheless, one afternoon in school my communication failed me while my brain stopped computing. My epilepsy story began in fifth class, surrounded by a crowd of horrified children and a teacher. It was the first of ten seizures.
Everyone has their own story, and a combination of daily medication – two tablets morning and evening – and life lessons has got me to a point where I am 34 and my epilepsy is “controlled”. My last seizure was over a decade ago and I am back living a regular life while respecting the fact that I have epilepsy, and I need to stay on top of it.
There were pitfalls along the way and a constant message of: “You will grow out of this.” But those words mean nothing to parents who are sick with worry and a young child who is blissfully unaware. Three months after my first seizure, my epilepsy landed me in University Hospital Galway. It was 25 December.
My Christmas Day began like any other, a rush down the stairs to see what was under the tree. The excitement grew when I unwrapped the latest FIFA PlayStation game. That magical feeling of Christmas morning dissipated as I got the call to get ready for mass.
I had been glued to the TV screen for a few hours at that point and that coupled with the disrupted sleep resulted in my second seizure. And although that happened almost 25 years ago, I can still vividly remember the lights on the ward that morning.
My seizures would usually be followed by an overwhelming headache and the nurses had to switch the lights off to put a halt to the migraine-like pain. Still, for the second time I was faced with a situation where I was unable to communicate with my family and the medical team.
In my experience, there is a familiar line of questioning after you regain consciousness. I was quizzed about the simplest of things; what was my name, what day was it, where was I. The answers were trapped in my brain, I couldn’t make the connections.
Having two seizures in a relatively short space of time raised alarm bells for my parents. They were faced with the complete unknown.
Meanwhile, considering my age, I was still naïve. I had no clue about my diagnosis and what it entailed. I didn’t know anyone with epilepsy, and I had never witnessed a seizure. I didn’t harbour any sort of anxiety. At that age you aren’t contemplating what this might mean for your quality of life in the years to come.
My friends and classmates never treated me any differently, although I did feel it was strange making regular trips to the hospital for appointments with my doctors and Neurologist. The increasing frequency of tests that went along with that were also quite peculiar. My sleep deprived EEG was particularly memorable – a night when my parents took turns to stay up and make sure I didn’t fall asleep before I finally dozed off during my examination.
Life went on but there were further setbacks around the corner. I had another seizure when I was in sixth class. The same symptoms, the crippling feeling of helplessness in the moments before I fell unconscious. Then I wake, sick and scared, with a frustration that grows as you can’t get the words out.
The other aspect was the vomiting. This could happen directly after my seizure, in the ambulance on the way to hospital, or in the hospital. It would often happen throughout that journey back to normality.
I actually felt fine once it all subsided, but it was more a sense of relief that my latest seizure was over. In some way, as I got older, I was also coming to the realisation that this was the norm for me now.
Another lengthy stint in the hospital followed that seizure and I remember visits from my aunts and uncles, even my teacher. I never knew of the ripples and the amount of worry that this had caused while my family franticly searched for answers.
More seizures were to come. I suffered another episode while I was playing on the PlayStation, when my blood sugars were quite low. Another time I had a seizure while I was waiting to be picked up after school. I had moved on to secondary school, and my next seizure took place in the classroom during an Irish lesson. I also had one during lunch, when I was playing football in the yard.
At this point I had noticed the toll it was taking on my life. I was in second year and starting to become more and more anxious about where and when I might get my next seizure. The smallest things can cause your mind to play tricks on you. My confidence was low and I was mistaking every day feelings as the sign of the potential onslaught for a seizure.
I did suffer another seizure, and this one occurred on the soccer pitch. It was my first time training with a local team. I was excited to get out playing alongside a few friends, but during a match I fell to the ground. I wouldn’t play team sports again until I got to college.
Coming into my late teens and eventually making the switch to third level, I had been seizure-free for a few years and was compliant with my medication. However, college had its own drawbacks. I had a whole new social life and that meant late nights and alcohol. It was a dreadful mix for my “controlled” epilepsy.
I had been warned of the side-effects of combining both with my tablets, but I still went out a few nights a week and most nights I was violently ill. I wasn’t getting sick from drinking to excess either, it was because I had combined drink with my tablets. Although it took me a while to come to that conclusion, another valuable life lesson.
I was still burning the candle at both ends and inevitably I had another seizure. I took a lift home with a friend after college one day and had a seizure in his car. I was rushed to A&E again.
I still wasn’t driving at that point, and I was warned of the consequences of having a seizure and what that would mean for a driving license. But I kept things together, graduated and moved on to my Masters. I soon become a sports journalist as the next phase of my life kicked into gear.
But my false sense of security led to my tenth seizure. I was working two jobs; I was a barman in the city at night and a parking attendant at the Galway Races during the day. I was only combining both for race week but adding in a night out socialising while not taking my tablets and then not eating the following morning, I slipped up.
That was over ten years ago. Today I work in Communications. I have been driving for more than eight years and I live a perfectly normal life. I eat healthy and work out regularly while I’m also able to socialise.
I would like to think I have found a happy medium and that my story can resonate with and possibly help some other young person out there. Life isn’t over when you get an epilepsy diagnosis or suffer your first seizure.
I have epilepsy, I have had seizures in the past, I take medication every day and I live a normal life. I’m also running my first marathon this year where I will be raising funds for Epilepsy Ireland, so I thought this was the time to tell my story.
Everyone’s situation is different, your story won’t be the same as mine, but listen to the medical advice and never lose hope.
Thank you Daragh for sharing your story for #EpilepsyDay 2025 - which we know will help so many others beginning their journey with the condition. If you have been inspired by Daragh's story, you can also share your story for International Epilepsy Day 2025. Visit the 'International Epilepsy Day' page on our website for more details.
We would also like to wish Daragh the best of luck with his training for the Dublin City Marathon later this year. If you would like to support his fundraising efforts for Epilepsy Ireland, you can visit his fundraising page on Eventmaster via the button below: