Community rallies around beloved Kildare man to access kidney transplant

FOR OVER three decades, well-known Athy community figure, Chris Swaine, has lived with kidney disease, and is now in need of community support to get his health back on track.

Diagnosed at just 20 years old with IgA Nephropathy and Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), he has faced a long and increasingly difficult battle with his health.

Now, after six-and-a-half years on dialysis and with his health continuing to worsen, the Castledermot native is relying on the support of his friends and the wider community to help him get back on the kidney transplant list.

Speaking about her friend, Athy local, Karen Ennis, described Chris as someone who, despite everything he has endured, continues to put other people first.

“He’s full of life,” she said. “He’d light up a room when he walked in. He’s very friendly and outgoing, he’s a joker, but he has a heart of gold as well. He’d do anything for anyone.” Chris’s health began to deteriorate significantly in January 2020, when his kidneys began to fail. Since then he has been on dialysis three times a week for around six-and-a-half years.

According to his friends, his heart is now functioning at just 50 per cent due to prolonged dialysis treatment.

“The longer you’re on dialysis, the more health complications you have,” Karen explained.

For Chris, a kidney transplant offers the possibility of finally breaking free from the cycle of dialysis and hospital appointments. But before he can return to the transplant list, he needs to receive extensive dental treatment.

Chris was placed on the kidney transplant list in October 2025, but was removed from it in March this year after his dental clearance expired and further treatment was required.

Dental clearance is a requirement for patients awaiting transplantation, helping to reduce the risk of infection and complications following surgery. However, the cost of the treatment has proved impossible for Chris to meet while he is unable to work.

After years of dealing with his own health problems, Chris is now unable to work, something that has also had an impact both mentally and financially.

“He struggles and, like everyone else, he’d have good days and bad days,” Karen said. “But even in his bad days, he’s still the first one to help other people.” That generosity is something Karen says has defined Chris throughout his life.

Chris is a co-director of the Athy Gospel Choir and is well known throughout Athy, Carlow and the surrounding communities for his involvement in music.

Karen first got to know Chris through his work with young people after he began mentoring her son with his music.

“He’s just been brilliant with the youth in Athy, helping them out, giving them advice and everything,” she said.

Despite facing enormous challenges himself, Chris has spent years helping others, organising music nights and taking part in fundraisers for people facing their own health struggles.

“He’s done himself so many fundraisers and organised so many music nights for other people that have had health issues,” Karen said. “But he’d never asked for any help himself.” That changed when Chris was removed from the transplant list. Karen, her husband Kevin, Mary Farrell and Jeremy Farrell decided it was time to return some of the support he had given to others over the years.

With permission from Chris and his partner Carmel Day, the group has launched a GoFundMe fundraiser with a target of €7,000 to help cover the cost of Chris’s dental treatment and give him the best possible chance of getting back onto the transplant list.

Karen said asking for help was not easy for Chris:

“We’ve been months now trying to encourage him,” she said. “It can be hard to accept help when you’re not used to it.” The community has rallied in support of the man, with donations coming in and people offering raffle prizes and practical help for fundraising events.

The group is also organising a pub quiz night at Paddy Dunnes in Athy on September 3, with the aim of raising further funds.

For Chris, getting a transplant would mean far more than simply receiving a new kidney. It would mean the chance to reclaim the ordinary life that illness has taken from him.

“He just wants to get back to living a normal life,” Karen said. “He wants to be able to go to work and he wants to be able to go on holiday. He hasn’t had a holiday in years and years because of the dialysis.” Karen remarked on the strength of the local response to the fundraiser, with members of the community sharing the link online, and donating raffle prizes and offering their time to help with the upcoming quiz night.

For Karen, every contribution matters, but she stresses that supporting Chris does not necessarily mean making a financial donation.

“I think the most important thing is sharing it,” she said. “There’s no pressure on anyone to donate. Everyone has their own financial struggles, but the more we share it, the people that can and are in a position to donate will donate.” You can find the fundraiser on: https://www.gofundme.com/f/lets-get-chris-back-on-the-transplant-list?cp_src=d