A former Tyrone GAA star has revealed he has only months to live after a diagnosis of terminal liver cancer.
However, Jody Gormley who helped guide his home club Trillick to triumph in the Tyrone Senior Championship last year says he has "no fear of dying whatsoever".
The 53-year-old told the BBC's GAA Social podcast: ""I have no fear of dying. No fear of dying whatsoever. I've felt blessed my entire life."
The Trillick boss broke the news to his team following their defeat to Errigal Ciaran GAA on October 26.
Jody Gormley. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, but somehow one of the most uplifting podcasts we’ve ever recorded. He’s a beautiful person.
— Thomas Niblock (@thomasniblock) November 1, 2024
It’s simply a must listen.
🎙️The GAA Social
🎧Listen here: https://t.co/ZsILhi3BlN pic.twitter.com/W8FONeKWEB
Gormley, a Tyrone legend during the 1990s helped his county win an Ulster Championship in 1995 and reach an All-Ireland final later that year.
The secondary school teacher reflected on his mortality in the podcast and said: "The sadness is the people you're leaving behind. That I'll not get to see my son, he's training hard with Trillick, he's come back after a couple of years, that I'll not get to see him play and I'll not get to see my family grow up and mature.
"That's not scary but sad really. That's the reality. When you peel it all back, it's the people close to you that you're not going to have those experiences with. That is the genuine sadness, there's no being tough around that, that's the reality."
In his interview, he spoke of the impact of his diagnosis on his family, his wife Deirdre and children, Aine (24), James (29) and Niamh (16).
He reflected: "It's probably tougher on the family than me"
"I'd say I'm fairly hard-nosed about stuff. When you're involved in sport, I think you do develop that resilience over years of training and the different setbacks you meet in sport", he told hosts, Thomas Niblock and Oisin McConville.
Gormley had taken unwell earlier this year suffering a stroke while on a family holiday, he was candid speaking of the experience earlier this year. It was September when he received a diagnosis of stage four liver cancer.
He kept on managing his club until the Tyrone Senior Championship Final last week.
He concluded that he wished to be remembered as a "decent person who helped people out as much as I could," and "obviously, a Trillick man".
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