Inspirational Monksland siblings defy health challenges to reach national darts finals

Two Monksland siblings who were diagnosed with rare medical conditions in their infancy will reach a milestone moment when they step onto the stage in Ballinasloe next month to take part in the biggest Irish youth darts championships of the year.

Hannah Carroll (14) and her brother Ryan (12), who live in River Village, will represent Roscommon at the Irish National Darts Organisation (INDO) Youths Inter-Counties Darts Championships, which is the equivalent of the All-Ireland Finals in the darts world for youth players.

The achievement of the Carroll siblings in being selected on the 23-panel squad to contest the prestigious darts event is made all the more remarkable given the range of health challengs they have faced in their young lives.

Robert and Laura Carroll have hailed the involvement of their two children in the Roscommon darts team as a story of “strength, unity, and possibility” and said Hannah and Ryan's story “continues to inspire everyone around them”.

Hannah Carroll was just two months old when her life took a turn few families are prepared for when she was diagnosed with a range of heart conditions, including a 'hole in her heart' and blocked arteries.

She faced a complex and frightening medical journey “before she had even learned to smile” according to her Dad, who adds that, throughout her many surgeries over the years she “showed a resilience that would become her trademark”.

While she still faces many complex medical challenges and has also been diagnosed with autism, Hannah is now enjoying life as a second year student in Coláiste Chiaráin in Summerhill, and she joined the Roscommon Youth Darts Academy about six months ago, and has never looked back since.

Hannah is not alone in her love of darts, however, as her 12-year old brother, Ryan, started watching Luke Littler on TV when he lit up the darts world at the tender age of 19, becoming the youngest world champion in the history of darts.

“That was the start of Ryan's love affair with darts, and he is darts mad,” says his Dad, who enrolled him in the Roscommon Youth Darts Academy over a year ago.

Academy members train in the Ballinaheglish Community Centre and both Hannah and Ryan attend training sessions every Saturday for two hours and also take part in challenge matches.

Ryan Carroll, who is in 6th class in Cloonakilla National School, has autism, a heart condition, and a rare chromosome condition called microdeletion which results in him being more of a visual learner.

“Ryan finds maths very challenging, but when he plays darts he has no bother counting the scores,” says his Dad, “so we find that the darts do help him with his maths.”

With both Ryan and Hannah being selected as part of the 23-member squad who will represent Roscommon at the Inter-County Championships on March 7 and 8 next in the Shearwater Hotel in Balllinasloe, their proud parents are delighted to see the progress their two children have made in the face of their many medical challenges.

Robert Carroll says he and his wife, Laura, are particularly delighted that their son and daughter have made it onto the team together. He says that working together, Hannah and Ryan bring “a unique strength, focus, and determination” to the sport.

He also points out that they “understand each other, support each other, and push each other to be their best.”

The children's Dad describes their autism as “simply part of who they are — not a limitation, but a different way of seeing and engaging with the world”. He says the concentration, routine and precision involved in playing darts means they can “tune out everything except the board in front of them” and proves to him and his wife that talent comes “in many forms”.

Hannah’s journey from a medically fragile infant to a county-level athlete is described as “extraordinary on its own” by her parents, who add that standing alongside her brother and both proudly representing Roscommon, their story is a celebration of "resilience, family, and the courage to step forward exactly as you are”.

Robert says that, for Roscommon, his children are rising stars, for their teammates, they are valued competitors, and for their family, they are a source of endless pride.

“For every young person who wonder whether there’s a place for them in sport, Hannah and her brother show that there absolutely is,” he firmly believes.