ONE of the bravest people I have ever met was the late Galway Blazers’ follower Maxie Scully. He was a true inspiration to anybody that wanted to achieve a goal in life, even those that seem to be unachievable. Although I interviewed him back in 2004 when he was seriously ill, I can still recall the steely resolve of a man that was fighting great odds. It was quite a humbling experience to interview Maxie considering the bravery that he had shown, given all the challenges that he had to deal with in his life.

Aside from his remarkable achievements, Maxie had to deal with a series of serious health problems such as seven heart attacks, a triple by-pass, a kidney transplant, removal of his gall bladder, the insertion of a defibrillator, the removal of skin cancer growths every three months as a side effect of crucial medication, the removal of a brain tumour, and he was on the waiting list for a heart transplant. He also had the tragedy of losing a brother and sister earlier in life and the death of his son Marcus in a road accident which he was desperately trying to cope with as they were good pals. However despite that, Maxie was a remarkably focused and driven person, and an example for anybody dealing with trauma in their lives.