Former Wolfe Tones Bellaghy manager speaks out about diagnosis of motor neurone disease

Former Wolfe Tones Bellaghy manager Seamus Birt, whose life has changed dramatically since being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) almost a year ago, says he hopes to raise more awareness of the condition.

Just weeks before his 60th birthday in August 2024, the engineer, better known as ‘Mama’, was given the devastating news that he may have the neurological condition.

This was later confirmed following a week of intensive tests in September.

MND is a progressive disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. It causes muscle weakness and wasting due to the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells that control muscle movement. MND is life-shortening and currently there is no cure.

For Seamus, who runs his own firm, Birt Engineering, the first symptoms of the condition were muscle spasms which caused him severe pain and discomfort.

“I noticed at times when I was out working and I would come in for my tea I would take bad spasms in my arm muscles, thigh muscles and calf muscles. They weren’t like wee cramps, these were like big kicks. I let them go for a while but when they continued I went to my doctors around May 2023 but they just put it down to fatigue,” explained the championship winning player and manager.

“I’m the type of person who has hardly ever been with a doctor in my life, I was very healthy prior to this and there is no history of MND in my family. I played football for Bellaghy in my day and I managed the senior team so I was always very active. I never had any health issues at all.”

As the months went on, Seamus’ condition worsened and with a pending trip to see his son Éamon, who was living in Australia at the time, he again visited his GP.

“I was going to Australia to visit Éamon in December 2023 so I went to the doctors a few times before that because I knew there was something wrong with me. These spasms were getting worse and I was taking serious cramps in my stomach and in my legs. I think around that time I also started noticing that if I was walking any distance at all I would lose the power in my left leg,” he said.

“I went to Australia anyway and I had my three week break with my son and when I came back in January I wasn’t any better so I went down to the doctor again but I still wasn’t getting any place. I told the doctor around that time ‘I think I have Parkinson’s or MS, there is something wrong with me here’. I took videos and showed them to them but I still didn’t get anywhere.”

Seamus’ partner Stella eventually contacted the Ulster Independent Clinic in Belfast and secured an appointment with one of the neurologists there.

“Within about an hour of seeing the private doctor he told me he was going down the road of Motor Neurones,” the Bellaghy man continued.

“When he told me that day he asked me ‘are you surprised?’ and I said ‘no, I’m not’. I know my own body well enough to know that something just wasn’t right.

“It was just a few weeks before my 60th birthday that I was told by the doctor that they were certain I had MND. I had to go through a lot of tests in The Royal in Belfast in September and that’s when it was properly diagnosed. The day I got diagnosed was the day I got my bus pass.”

In the last year, Seamus’ life has changed dramatically - he has had to take a step back from the day-to-day running of his business, with his son Éamon now taking care of the majority of the workload.

Due to losing power in his left leg, Seamus needs to wear a leg brace to help with his mobility.

“If I do too much today then I’ll do nothing tomorrow. You get very tired very quickly with it. It does change everything for you. I would have gone to a lot of football matches and out for walks but that’s all stopped now,” he said.

“It definitely has had a big impact on me and the people around me. I played football in my day and I managed Bellaghy so I always went to matches. I think the last match I went to was in Derry city and that particular day I left the ground early to get to the car but I just hadn’t the power in my legs to go too fast so that’s all stopped now.

“I’m lucky so far in that it hasn’t affected me too badly yet. I go for tests in the City Hospital, The Royal and The Mater. I was up for recent scans and tests and going by them I haven’t deteriorated too much in the last six months, so that is good for me.”

During a trip to Belfast in January, Seamus said he felt inspired by a pensioner, who was collecting money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association NI, and felt he wanted to raise funds for the organisation as well.

“I was up in Belfast in January and I met a wee man standing outside the Castlecourt with a bucket collecting money. Any time I am anywhere I always throw money into collection buckets so I threw some money in as I was passing him and I noticed that he had the Motor Neurone and MNDA badge on him. I went on about my business and on the way back I stopped with him, a man of 80 years of age, and I had a chat with him. He told me he had been trekking for six weeks over Christmas collecting money for the charity. I decided on the way home in the car that day that I would do something decent for MNDA. I didn’t rush into it but I looked into a few different things and a skydive really appealed to me as it’s a bit of a challenge.”

Seamus’ two sons, Séamus Óg, who works as a Global Brand Ambassador for The Echlinville Distillery, and Eamon, who helps run the family business, will also take on the charity skydive from 15,000ft.

The trio have decided to take on the mammoth challenge next month, an important time for them as they all celebrate their birthdays in August.  They have set up a fundraising link for online donations

The August 16 event will also see a Big Breakfast and 5K walk and fun run taking place at Bellaghy GAC in the morning.

Later in the evening, a BBQ and raffle with fantastic prizes, all sponsored by local people, will take place in the Taphouse Bar in Bellaghy from 6pm.

“There’s a great community here in Bellaghy. It started off as a skydive and then next thing Dermot O'Kane (DJ), who owns the Taphouse mentioned having a BBQ night. We have also decided to do a Big Breakfast and 5K walk and fun run at the club that morning. There is also a big raffle with five really good prizes and that will take place on the night of the BBQ. The prizes include a holiday for two in Spain and a weekend in Donegal.”

The fundraising day has been titled ‘Mama’s Day for MNDA’.

“I first played for Bellaghy in 1984 and my teammates started calling me Mama then, it was something to do with my granny, I still don’t know what the real reason is but it stuck to me and that’s what I was known as. I’m known more as Mama to most people. I think ‘Mama’s Day for MNDA’ has a wee bit of rhyme to it,” he laughed.

As part of a huge weekend of fundraising for the Motor Neurone Disease Association Wolfe Tones GAC Bellaghy will also host a Poker Evening in the Social Club on Friday, August 8. First hand will be at 8pm and entry will cost £20 with £5 buy-ins. There will be a bar and refreshments on the night.

Initially Seamus had set a fundraising goal of £10,000 for the charity however this has already been surpassed.

“The charity MNDA does keep in touch with me and they would come out and speak to me now and again, they are doing brilliant work. I will end up in a wheelchair, I don’t know when, but I will, and the charity has everything put in place for whatever time I need them.

“There’s only around 115 people in the whole of the North who have the disease. I was surprised at that figure. In the NHS there are only two main specialists who cover the whole area. With MNDA themselves they are on top of things and there are people there who you can call if you have any concerns or questions. I just want to bring awareness to the disease and to the support that is there.

“I’m very grateful for everything that has been done so far and the donations that have been coming in. The event is four weeks away but I will be pushing it out to the very last minute and I would encourage people to come along and support it any way they can, any donation at all I will be very grateful for,” added Seamus.