WATCH: Tipperary man and his family's IVF journey features on RTE's Dancing with the Stars
Courageous: Nicky Murphy and his family feature on emotional Dancing with the Stars live show
A Tipperary man and his family left viewers and the audience members in tears during Sunday night’s Dancing with the Stars on RTÉ as the country heard about their inspiring journey to having a child.
A contestant on the popular show, Met Éireann weather forecaster, Joanna Donnelly, revealed her dance for Dedicated Dance Week was for Sara Murphy - who is married to Nicky Murphy from Boherlahan and the couple have a son, Noah.
Joanna met Sara through her infertility charity.
Speaking on the show, Joanna said: “I met Sara through the charity that I ran, Pomegranates. We were able to help Sara to get access to medical treatment which allowed her to have her son, Noah.”
Noah and Sarah both featured in the promo for the dance and Sara was in attendance for the live show on Sunday night.
When asked in the promo by Joanna if Noah wanted a hug, he jokingly said: “No,” to laughs from all there.
Joanna has spoken openly about her struggles with fertility and her IVF journey in the past and about Pomegranates, the former charity she set up to help couples who were in a similar position to her but couldn’t afford the treatment.
She said: “Pomegranates started just after my youngest son was born. We conceived Casper naturally and we had expected to need IVF because we had needed IVF to have my middle child, Tobias.”
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is one of several techniques available to help people with fertility problems have a baby. IVF is where your eggs are removed from your ovaries and fertilised with your partner’s or a donor’s sperm in a laboratory.
Joanna said: “I felt a bit guilty because here I was with the means to pay for an IVF cycle. So myself and my friend Fiona McPhilips decided that we’d set up a charity to help other people suffering from infertility, and Pomegranates grew from there.”
Meteorologist Joanna and her dance partner Maciej Zieba danced a Tango to Dreams by The Cranberries.
Speaking on the show, Sara said: “My husband was diagnosed with cancer when he was 24.
“So we knew when we were going to try and have children it wasn’t going to come as easy as we would have hoped. We applied through the website that Joanna had set up. We wrote a little bit about why we were in this situation and we were the lucky ones that were chosen to go for treatment and in December 2015 we had Noah.
“I am so grateful for the work of Pomegranates. They really gave us the most amazing gift we could ever ask for in our lives.”
Joanna added: “Sara has been a great advocate for others in her own situation. And I want to pay tribute to her resilience and her hard work.”
In a post on social media afterwards, Sara said: “When we first got in touch with Joanna Donnelly 10 years ago, we had no idea what a profound impact she would have on your lives.
“She gave us the greatest gift you can give a couple, the chance to be parents. Then we had Noah and every day with him has just been one amazing adventure.
“He is the best reason to keep on going when times are tough. The past two weeks my mind has been in overdrive thinking about the show.
“Sunday night was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life that I’ll never forget.
“I love talking about IVF because when the road seems so alone and daunting it helps to see little glimmers of hope coming through.
“Nobody chooses to need IVF, yet about 20% of the Irish population will need help. Thank you everyone who text over the last few days. I’m overwhelmed with the love. My heart is full.”
While Nicky added: “So proud! Noah thought it was the funniest thing ever that he was on TV.
“Joanna helped give us the greatest gift of them all and we will be forever grateful.”
The performance had a profound impact on the judges and Arthur Gourounlian: “It truly touched me. I can relate to your story. I can’t even talk. You made me remember to keep believing and keep dreaming and that anything is possible.”
Judge Brian Redmond said: “I think that’s the best I’ve seen you dance. There’s no doubt about it, you are improving every week. Well done.”
Judge Karen Byrne said: “I’m sure Noah and all of the families that you’ve helped would be so proud. It was beautiful.”