As she looks ahead to her 21st birthday this December, Michaela Morley, a kidney transplant recipient from Co. Mayo, recently reunited with rugby legend, Brian O’Driscoll, who lit up her Temple Street hospital room when she was a six-year-old child on dialysis. They caught up again (in early September 2025), together with Michaela’s mother Bridie, for a heart-to-heart chat in the garden of the Irish Kidney Association’s (IKA) National Kidney Support Centre on the grounds of Beaumont Hospital. A link to a video recording of their meet up is https://youtu.be/o8F0dHUtMsQ
The Centre is currently undergoing a major renovation, and Michaela and her family are proudly supporting a national fundraising campaign to help complete its refurbishment ahead of its planned reopening in Spring 2026. More information is available at www.supportkidneycentre.ie
As a little girl undergoing treatment at Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Michaela was no stranger to hospital stays since birth and attending for dialysis treatment from the time she was only 18 months old. There were long journeys from Ballyglass, near Claremorris, in Co. Mayo, for the three times weekly haemodialysis treatments, an experience that became her “normal”, even if it was far from a normal early childhood.
In May 2011, a surprise visit from Ireland and Leinster rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll, who arrived with the Heineken Cup the Leinster rugby team had won, broke that routine. In a joyful, iconic moment captured on camera and making national headlines, Michaela, then six years old, hooked up to a dialysis machine, tossed a ball into the cup from her hospital bed as Brian stood cheering her on at the foot of it. That day sparked a lasting connection, and they’ve stayed in touch ever since. In 2018, the formidable duo reunited to officially open the Renal and Nephrology Outpatient Unit at Temple Street, and most recently appeared together on the RTÉ Late Late Show in April 2024 promoting Organ Donor Awareness Week, the annual campaign which is organised by the Irish Kidney Association.
When the National Kidney Support Centre reopens in Spring 2026, it will be available free of charge to Michaela, her family, and countless other kidney patients and their loved ones from across Ireland who travel to Dublin hospitals for treatment.
“I’m delighted to catch up with Michaela today and hear how she’s getting on,” said Brian, who is an Ambassador for CHI at Temple Street and the ISPCC. It’s clear to see how the Irish Kidney Association has supported her family over the last number of years. Today, we’re visiting the charity’s Support Centre which is right across the road from Beaumont Hospital. I believe the centre will offer families of kidney patients of all ages, exactly like Michaela, great support whilst their family member is being treated in Hospital.”
For Michaela, the Support Centre represents comfort and dignity during uncertain times – real home away from home. Earlier this year, during a 17-night hospital stay, the IKA arranged nearby accommodation for her mother Bridie. It meant that Bridie could be close to her daughter when she needed her most. When the Support Centre reopens, on the grounds of Beaumont Hospital campus it will be a lifeline, a safe, welcoming place for families like the Morley’s, from all over the country. Bridie shared, “Before Michaela was born, we were told she wouldn’t survive, but she proved everyone wrong. She spent her first 10 weeks in hospital, and by 18 months we were travelling four hours to Dublin, three times a week, for dialysis. That was our normal. Her transplant at Christmas time, when she was seven years old was the best Christmas present you could hope for and it changed everything, and we, her family including my husband Sean and her elder brother John, are forever grateful to her donor’s family. “The transplant I received at the end of 2011 gave me my life back, but it’s still a journey,” said Michaela. “I’m so grateful to the donor family who made it possible. But being a kidney patient is for life. Having a place like the Support Centre makes ongoing care much more manageable - especially for families like ours who have to travel long distances and for very early appointments. I can go there to relax between appointments, go back to my room to rest, watch television, have a bite to eat and a cuppa, and chat to other people on a similar health journey.”
Michaela in now in her second year of a childcare course, chasing her dream of working with young kids - something she says she always wanted to do.
Carol Moore, Chief Executive of the Irish Kidney Association, expressed gratitude to Michaela and her mother Bridie for helping to shine a light on the importance of the IKA’s National Kidney Support Centre. She added that, “There are over 5,000 people in Ireland living with end-stage kidney disease. Just over half of them are living with a functioning kidney transplant, while the rest rely on dialysis treatment to survive.” Acknowledging the enduring friendship between Michaela and Brian, Ms. Moore highlighted the crucial role which the National Kidney Support Centre plays in supporting this diverse community as they travel from all parts the country for complex and often lifelong care. The Support Centre which was opened in March 2000 has always been more than just a building. It's a space where vulnerability meets compassion where patients and families find peace, connection, and understanding. With the public’s help, we can reopen the doors to this sanctuary and make it even better than before. We are deeply grateful for the continued support from people like Brian, Micheala and Bridie, that helps us restore the National Kidney Support Centre and sustain the vital services we provide.”
To help complete the final phase of its transformation, the IKA has launched a dedicated online fundraising campaign at www.supportkidneycentre.ie aimed at supporting the Centre’s €1.3 million renovation and fit-out and ensuring that it remains a safe, convenient, and sustainable place of rest and support run by the organisation and free of charge to families from across Ireland. With a fundraising target of €250,000 to support the project, the campaign invites the public, corporate partners, and supporters to help restore this essential resource for the kidney community.
Located less than 200 metres from the front entrance doors of Beaumont Hospital, where all adult kidney transplants take place in Ireland, the IKA’s National Kidney Support Centre, when reopened in Spring 2026, will provide free accommodation and support services to families who need to be close to Beaumont hospital or other Dublin hospitals for surgery, follow-up appointments, and ongoing treatment.
Michaela and her mother Bridie are now proudly supporting the fundraising campaign to bring the National Kidney Support Centre back to life - not only for themselves, but for kidney patients and families across Ireland.
To support the National Kidney Support Centre project visit: www.supportkidneycentre.ie
