DONEGAL Town woman Mary Martin has been selected as MS Ireland’s World MS Day Ambassador for Donegal as part of this year’s national awareness campaign, MS Journeys: Many Faces, One Community.
Marked globally on May 30 each year, World MS Day shines a light on the realities of living with multiple sclerosis and helps raise awareness, challenge misconceptions and build greater understanding of the condition. In Ireland, MS Ireland is sharing stories from ambassadors in all 26 counties throughout May, highlighting the many different experiences of living with MS while celebrating the resilience, strength and connection within the MS community.
For Mary, being part of the campaign is about helping people better understand what life with MS is really like.
Speaking about World MS Day, she said: “This is me. This is my life. I have MS and I wear it proudly. I am me and I want everyone to know about it.”
Mary, from Donegal, describes living with MS as “an overwhelming mental and physical challenge, yet ultimately a powerful and transformative experience.” She has also spoken openly about the importance of mental health support following diagnosis and wants others, particularly younger people, to know that life can continue after MS.
Her message is one of honesty, courage and hope. Mary says she wants people to understand that MS is not always visible and that although there are difficult days, people living with the condition can still lead full and meaningful lives.
For Mary, living with MS is both a profound challenge and a life-changing experience.
“It is an overwhelming mental and physical challenge, yet ultimately a powerful and transformative experience.”
She speaks very honestly about how MS has affected her, both mentally and emotionally. At times, she says, it has pushed her to the point where she barely recognised herself, but through that struggle she has also found resilience and determination.
“Sometimes it breaks me into a person I don’t even recognise, mentally being pushed to my limits but then I become resilient and extremely powerful and I want to be unbreakable, my doctor said I have a stubborn streak to not lying down when things get tough. I like to think I have MS but it does not get to decide who I am as a person or that I have this disability and I cannot continue to what I love in life.”
For someone newly diagnosed, Mary’s message is deeply personal and compassionate. She encourages people to allow themselves time to grieve and process what has happened, and to seek mental health support as early as possible.
“Firstly take time to grieve, take time to process and get mental health help as soon as possible. I unfortunately did not get help and I blanked out the fact I had MS, I wanted nothing to do with it. I was angry. I fell into a state of depression where unfortunately suicide was heavily on my mind. Thankfully with help I am now over this.”
The support of her local branch has been very important in her journey. Mary says the Donegal branch has been very good to her, while family and friends have done their best to support her, even if it can sometimes feel as though the daily realities of MS are hard for others to fully understand.
“My MS branch was very good to me I have to say. Family was in shock and then I didn’t want to hear about it or listen to any advice so at the beginning it was hard. My friends understand, but sometimes I think no one really understands what daily struggles we have, even when we look ok from the outside.”
MS Ireland’s World MS Day 2026 campaign is designed to reflect a simple but powerful truth: no two experiences of MS are the same. By sharing personal stories from around the country, the organisation hopes to increase awareness and ensure that people living with MS feel seen, heard and supported.
Through her role as Donegal ambassador, Mary is helping to bring that message to life in her local community and beyond.
For more information on World MS Day 2026 and MS Ireland’s campaign, visit www.ms-society.ie.
Mary Martin, Donegal ambassador for World MS Day 2026.