Community rallies around Moore man with successful fundraiser
Eoin with his siblings, Emmet and Ethel.
The remarkable resilience of a South Roscommon native living with Motor Neurone Disease has inspired a community-wide fundraising effort that has now raised almost €9,000 in support of him and his family.
Eoin Egan, originally from Moore, enjoyed a highly successful career in London spanning architecture, property consultancy and project management before being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2020 at the age of 37.
Despite the challenges, Eoin’s personal story is one full of incredible ingenuity, resolve and positivity.
In December 2025, he became one of just 23 people worldwide - and the only Irish patient - to receive a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) implant as part of a clinical trial. The implant, fitted during a six-hour surgery, connects to his laptop computer via Bluetooth and enables him to communicate using thought alone by interpreting brain signals linked to imagined movement.
Alongside his wife Jenny and sister Ethel, Eoin quickly adapted the technology to operate his wheelchair, leading to what is believed to be the first successful demonstration of a wheelchair controlled purely by thought.
His remarkable story, shared by the Roscommon Herald in May, prompted a group of former classmates from his native Moore to organise a local solidarity walk in July along with launching a fundraiser.
One of the most touching moments of the ‘Shine a Light for Eoin’ walk at the Moore United soccer grounds was a live video link that allowed Eoin, who is based in London, to interact with those attending the event in South Roscommon.
"We got great feedback from his family afterwards about how much that meant. Sometimes it's the smaller things that make the biggest impact,” Eoghan recalled.
The fundraising effort has brought together former classmates, neighbours, friends and supporters from across the community. Since the summer, a GoFundMe page and a spinathon have raised €9,000, which will go towards supporting Eoin, his wife Jenny and their two children.
Eoghan Kenny described the generosity shown by the community as "phenomenal".
"We were amazed by the support. At the recent spinathon, people were walking over with €50 notes and quietly dropping them into the collection box without wanting any recognition. It was incredible to see,” he said.
He believes the fundraiser only became possible because of the courage and openness Eoin has shown since his diagnosis. "You are absolutely right when you say his attitude has driven all of this. Before anything was organised, we wanted to make sure he was comfortable with it. Some people might prefer to keep these things private, but Eoin was encouraging everybody along the way and was very interested in everything that was happening."
The ripple effect of his story has extended beyond Roscommon. Members of the Roscommon community in London have also embraced the cause, organising gatherings and events in support of him and maintaining close contact with his family.
