Local sports star speaks about living with epilepsy

By Kevin O'Neill

It's been quite a journey for Dylan Gavin in recent years.

The talented soccer player, who spent time with English club Charlton Athletic and also featured for Athlone Town in the League Of Ireland, left these shores aged 16 to follow his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

He made a great impact there - helped along the way by former Charlton Academy coach and fellow Athlone native Anthony Hayes - and Dylan made his senior professional debut in an EFL Trophy match against Leyton Orient.

From there, he starred for lower league clubs during loan spells, before eventually deciding to return to Athlone on the expiration of his Charlton contract in 2021.

However, life had already changed enormoously for Dylan.

Shortly before coming home to be closer to family and friends, Dylan was preparing for a Charlton youth team match when he felt an unknown sensation in his arm.

He felt like something wasn't right. And moments later, while heading for the pitch, Dylan had his first ever epileptic seizure and was immediately rushed to hospital in London.

Having received top-class medical and psychological care from Charlton, by 2022 the frequency of the seizures had increased and Dylan was medically diagnosed with having epilepsy, a condition that dictates he will be on medication for rest of his life.

Now 22 and currently back in Athlone, working and playing junior football locally with St Peter's, before a possible return to the League Of Ireland in January, Dylan has bravely decided to speak out about epilepsy and the challenges, both physical and mental, that it can pose.

In doing so, he hopes that other people with epilepsy will feel more comfortable talking about the condition and "not feel like they're alone".

He told the Westmeath Independent that his direct messages on social media are always open to anyone with epilepsy who might need support and someone to talk to.

"Opening up about this used to feel impossible," he said.

"It's taken a lot to be comfortable telling my story because epilepsy had a real impact on my confidence and physical and mental health.

“But now I'm ready to open up and let people know that I'm here for them to talk to. If I can help anyone at all it makes it worthwhile to talk publicly about it."

Dylan said it took some time for him to adapt to his condition, but that he was determined not to let it scupper his footballing career.

"I now know I'm a lucky fella because there's a lot of people out there suffering in worse ways. But it is really important that we talk about it and try to help others," he said.

Now, instead of quite frequent seizures a few years ago, Dylan has managed to curtail them to one or two a year. But reaching that point was "the toughest time of my life", he said, as a long journey of medication changes took place to stabilise matters.

"When you take steps forward and it then comes back unexpectedly it can feel like you're starting from scratch again.

That's the reality of living with epilepsy. The mental effects can last a lot longer than the seizures themselves, so I think it's good to talk about it and to try increase awareness of epilepsy," he said.

Having featured while almost helping Athlone Town to promotion in 2024, Dylan had a productive year or so in Scottish football with Elgin City, and he's now ready to return to the League of Ireland stage, ideally in the colours of Athlone Town, he admitted.

Originally from Sarsfield Square in the town, he said: "I loved playing for Athlone Town when I came back from England.

I enjoyed it. I tried something new in Scotland and did well in a tough league similar in standard to the League of Ireland 1st Division. I'm back enjoying my football for St Peter's and scoring goals, and hopefully Athlone Town will come for me in January.

You never know in football but that's what I hope happens because I'm proud to be from Athlone and feel I can score plenty of goals in the 1st Division. Hopefully it will happen."

A former pupil at Scoil na gCeithre Maistri, St Mary's NS and Marist College, Dylan also wanted to thank his family and friends for their understanding and support since the diagnosis.

"I know a few people in Athlone with epilepsy and it's very hard for some because there's not many support systems in place to help. From my experience, you are kind of left to fight it on your own.

But I talk to those people regularly and will always be there for anyone looking to talk," he said.