Ireland are set to have its first ever team competing in a European football championships for diabetics this summer.
A number of footballers from across the country have come together to compete in DiaEuro - a competition taking place in Ukraine in July.
The Irish team was the brainchild of Dubliner Cathal Fleming who got the idea after his shock diagnoses three years ago at 35.
He told the Irish Mirror: "I've always been into football and when I was told I had the condition I did some research only to find that there were no teams around for diabetics.
"So I got the idea and was quite shocked at the response I got. We had players coming to Dublin from Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Cork.
"We now train at the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown and have been working away for months to try and pick a squad to go to Ukraine."
Mick McCarthy delighted to have Sheffield United contingent available for Ireland's Portugal camp
Cathal admitted to having little knowledge of the condition before he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
"I thought diabetes was when you eat too much sugar and you are unhealthy and that was never me.
"I happened to have a bad cold at the time, so I felt a bit run down anyway, but I knew there was a problem with the amount of fluids I was drinking.
"I had this unquenchable thirst. I was going to the supermarket and buying a litre of apple juice and drinking it on the street and was still thirsty after it."
The team, made up of men from 18 to 40+ years of age, want to show that the lifelong condition shouldn't stop people participating and competing in sport.
Sean Connor on verge of League comeback with Limerick - report
Cathal said: "I had to google diabetes for a number of weeks because I knew so little and you need to quickly become an expert on it.
"With Type 1 it is more difficult to manage because we have to inject daily and constantly measure our sugar levels.
"But what we are trying to get across here is that it does not stop people playing sports and it is very important to keep fit with this condition."
Cathal is very thankful to Diabetes Ireland and their CEO Kieran O'Leary for their support of the team.
But funding has been a stumbling block for the outfit though who need to raise €16,000 to finance their trip.
And anyone looking to contact for sponsorship or funding opportunities can get in touch at hello@diaeuro.ie
If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
