Devastating update for young Irish father-of-three battling brain tumour in Dubai

A young Irish father fighting a devastating brain tumour has received heartbreaking news after undergoing several weeks of treatment. 

Caoimin Keeshan, originally from Shinrone, Co Offaly but now living in Dubai with his family, was diagnosed with an "extremely aggressive" grade 4 malignant brain tumour this summer. He underwent a gruelling seven-hour brain surgery which successfully removed 80% of the tumour, followed by six weeks of radiation treatments. 

Husband to Kathryn, a native of Foxford in Co Mayo, the couple have three children: Katie, Daithi and Caoimhe. 

A heavily supported GoFundMe campaign was set up by his friend Aidan Connolly, a former Mayo hurling captain, to raise funds for Caoimin's treatment, which has to be privately funded due to circumstances outside of the family's control.

Since it was launched on September 14, the campaign has raised a staggering €116,000 of the €150,000 target at the time of writing as family, friends and the wider Irish community rallied together. 

Caoimin faced setbacks in recent weeks including emergency blood transfusions in late September and "significant challenges" at the start of October. He had to stop treatment due to low platelets and a scan revealing a second tumour on the right side of his brain. 

Despite these setbacks, an update posted on the GoFundMe page said: "He is lucid and really enjoys listening to the chat from his visitors and knowing that many people around the world are keeping him in their thoughts and prayers is a real comfort to us all."

In a further development posted last week, the campaign shared the sad heartbreaking news that Caoimin's health had deteriorated to the point he could no longer receive treatment and was moved to palliative care.

“The last few days have been tough,” the post began. “Caoimin unfortunately is no longer able to receive treatment and has been moved to palliative care for a peaceful and caring ending to his young life with his family and friends by his side.

“Thank you for your continued support.”