One From The Head

As that ferocious thunderstorm cleared and the sun broke through, Noel Bollard woke up one very, very happy man this morning…

Yesterday, his beloved Liverpool had finally clinched their first League title win in 30 years.

What’s more, this morning, Noel Bollard remembered that his beloved Liverpool had finally clinched their first League title win in 30 years.

It’s been a long, hard road since latenight accident that left Noel severely dazed and very confused. The date was Tuesday, March 19th 2019, the time, 1.30am, when Noel was on a late shift for his long-term employer, the ESB. The accident would leave Noel struggling to remember even the simplest of facts, and even the most recent of memories.

It didn’t take long before his wife, Margaret, and two grown-up kids, Faye and Emmet, were all working out a plan to get Noel from there back to here. Guiding them through much of that year-long trek was Professor Niall Turbidy [left], brother to yer man off The Late Late Show.

“Niall was remarkable,” says Noel today, looking and sounding as dapper and sunny as ever. “I was being stubborn, convinced that I knew best, and that I would sort all this out myself, but Niall was right about every single thing he said at our first meeting. Once I began to realise that he knew a hell of lot more than I ever could about this brain injury, I took his advice. Every step of the way…”

And now those steps are going to get that little bit quicker, as Noel returns to his favourite pasttime, running, by organising a fundraising marathon around Greystones on Sunday, July 12th. Having set out to hopefully raise €500 for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, the figure is currently breaking through the €2,000 mark.

You can add to that glorious total right here.

In the meantime, we caught up with Noel down at his Redford Court mansion to talk recovery, running and remembering…

Again, you can donate to Noel’s Greystones marathon for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland right here. And, hey, here’s the big day itself, right here.