A day filled with emotion as Dylan completes marathon

By Dionne Meehan

A DONEGAL man, whose leg was crushed by rubble during the Creeslough explosion in 2022, marked his remarkable recovery by running a marathon for charity on Sunday.

Following 16 weeks of training, Dylan McGee completed the 42.2km Connemarathon in Galway while raising funds for the Children’s Health Foundation.

Describing the emotion he felt while crossing the finish line as “unparalleled”, Dylan said it was a physical and mental battle to get through it.

But this isn’t the first hurdle the Creeslough man had to overcome in his lifetime.

In 2022, he was one of the eight people hospitalised following the tragic explosion that claimed the lives of ten people on October 7, 2022.

Nipping into the Applegreen shop on his way home from college that Friday, the medical student soon found himself trapped among the rubble while the unsung heroes of the village scrambled to the victims’ aid.

Clearing the rubble, they managed to free Dylan before continuing the rescue efforts through the night.

Trapped for no longer than 15 minutes, the 23-year-old was rushed to Letterkenny University Hospital for treatment.

Treated almost instantly, Dylan described the care he received at the hospital as “terrific”.

With no pulse present in his leg on arrival to Letterkenny Hospital, medics had to work quickly to eliminate the risk of amputation.

Sustaining substantial breakages, he was rushed to theatre where he had to undergo extensive surgery in a bid to stabilise his leg.

“They had to put in plates and bolts,” he said.

Then faced with overcoming the grief that went hand in hand with the tragedy, Dylan set out on the long rehabilitation process.

But thankfully, after a substantial amount of rest and physio, Dylan was back on his feet.

“It just took a bit of time getting used to the feeling of walking again,” he said.

Once faced with the heart breaking news that he could never play football again due to his injury, the former St. Michael’s GAA player put his full focus into running.

Now able to tick completing his first marathon off his bucket list, Dylan looks to the future.

“Once you prove you can do one, I suppose you can keep on going.

“They are great for the body and great for the head,” he said.

Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere