{"id":1336,"date":"2018-11-05T05:33:56","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T05:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.edgagolf.com\/profiles\/?page_id=1336"},"modified":"2023-08-09T14:27:42","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T13:27:42","slug":"30-james-hourigan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.edgagolf.com\/profiles\/30-james-hourigan\/","title":{"rendered":"30 – James Hourigan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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James was super competitive in everything he did, and his father Aidan once said: \u201cIf James saw two flies on the wall, he would want to see which one got to the top first.\u201d And so it was for almost all the sports that James turned his attention too, which included that most Irish of all games, peil ghaelach or as it is known to the rest of the world Irish football. The game played between two teams of fifteen players is not for the faint-hearted, and many a boy and man have come away from a match with various breaks or dislocations of bones and joints.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The more serene game of golf, which is one of Ireland’s most popular sporting pastimes, came and almost went with just a swish or two of a nine iron says, James, \u201cI broke the glass in the front door,\u201d when giving golf a try out in the park just across from his home. He played casual golf for a while, just for fun and eventually represented Dublin in the \u2018All Ireland Community games in Pitch and Putt when he was fifteen years of age. Golf then took something of a back seat as he focused on the seemingly more intense racket sports, that was until his life, made a dramatic turn.<\/p>\n

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James visited South Africa in the early 2000’s and immediately took a liking to the lifestyle which has outdoor living and sports as core ingredients. Just four years later James decided to make his life in Johannesburg amid the bustling metropolis and purple-blue\u00a0jacaranda trees. It was a time of life when James was active in business, active in life and fully invested in keeping fit. James, as people from South Africa are prone to say, \u2018is a big unit\u2019, and his five times per week training sessions at the local gym made sure that he was in tip-top physical condition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The accident which cost James both of his legs happened in an instant and on his way home from the gym. A second or two earlier or later and the combo van that broadsided James in the driver’s door may have missed his car altogether, but it didn\u2019t, and James took the full force of the collision. James recalls, \u201cI was just entering the highway, I wasn\u2019t even on the highway, I was just on the entrance lane\u2026and a few seconds later I was basically smashed, T-Boned, I suppose from the other lane by some taxi guy. He had lost control, and he took me out at high speed in the driver’s door and knocked me off the highway.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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James recalled most of the incident as he was conscious throughout while his car tumbled down a bank and hit a tree, \u201cThe tree stopped the car falling into a concrete sleuth and so it could have been a lot worse.<\/p>\n

I was very fortunate that I had side airbags which saved my life,\u201d says James who continued \u201cI had the windows down and so was able to get up on my elbows and get out, but I genuinely didn\u2019t realise that my feet were still in the car, it was that hectic.\u201d An off-duty paramedic was by his side in just a few minutes and James credits her with saving his life, \u201cShe did what she had to do,\u201d but that was just the beginning as he was \u2018lost\u2019 twice on the operating table that night from loss of blood while doctors fought to keep James alive.<\/p>\n

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Somehow James managed to wake-up the next morning, and the sense of being alive was electric, \u201cI realised within twelve hours that I had lost my legs, but I was so chuffed that I was alive,\u201d says James. In the seconds after managing to get out of the car James had reached out to God and prayed for his life, \u201cI was chuffed because I had prayed to God, I had words with him, and he obviously listened and decided that I wasn\u2019t good looking enough for his kingdom just yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A quote from the film Shawshank Redemption, in which the character Andy Dufresne proclaims, \u201cI guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying,\u201d sums up the choice that James had to make during his rehab. James would tell anyone who cared to listen that he was going to walk again which he did, and recognises that he had to a lot of support from others, \u201cI did it through submitting to the wisdom of medical staff and in particular surgeons and physiotherapists.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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James was in the hospital for seven weeks, had five surgeries under general anaesthetic in the space of 16 days and through it all, he kept a positive attitude, \u201cEverything is possible\u201d became his mantra. His \u2018glass half full\u2019 outlook would be tested time and time again during six weeks of rehabilitation. James genuinely believes that he was fortunate that day in Johannesburg, \u201cI was lucky that it happened when it did, I was lucky that I had a positive attitude, I was lucky that I had good people around me, I was blessed in a lot of ways. I was fit and had the best of private healthcare.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just over 14 weeks after the accident, James made good on his promise to walk back into work, but there was still much to do. Life inevitably changes when one has to deal with the aftermath of such an accident. James started to contemplate what his sporting life might look like as a double amputee, \u201cWhat am I going to do now?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Team sports with his able-bodied buddies were out of the question, as he had chosen the path of walking again. Ironically for some people who do not have the option to walk, the range of sports available is broader, wheelchair basketball, rugby, football and athletics are all options, but for James by choosing to walk he limited his options. It was then that he thought that golf could be a good option.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

James remembers his first foray to the golf course 9 months after the accident, \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure that I broke 80 for nine holes but I parred two of the par threes, and I thought right that\u2019s it I\u2018m going to play this game again.\u201d James recalls some of the good rounds were when playing with his friends, sharing jokes and having a big smile on his face. For a time he tried too hard and just didn\u2019t want to play golf, the enjoyment had gone.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGolf is about adapting, adjusting, being flexible, accepting what you have, playing to your strengths all of that good stuff,\u201d says James. Golf has taught him that you don\u2019t have to be able-bodied to be able to play. \u201cIt\u2019s a level playing field. Golf has taught me the bad things about me, when I get short-tempered when I lose my composure. It teaches you things about yourself and about life as well, but it also teaches you the good things, to applaud others when they do well, that you can be gracious so it mirrors life and your character.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Having realised how fortunate he was with the best of healthcare, James founded the Breaking Barriers Charitable Trust. This trust makes a difference in one young girl\u2019s life. \u201cThe people that helped me set-up the trust in the first place have really taken over ownership of the trust and kept it going strong.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The trust has an annual golf day at the Wanderers golf club in Johannesburg where the funds raised go to the upkeep of prosthesis for a young girl who is a double amputee. The trust and rehabilitation centre have both helped James to realise just how lucky he was as he saw what other people have had to go through.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf has been a saviour for me in a lot of ways, I think that if I didn\u2019t have golf and just was doing gym, who knows how it would have all turned out. I have met some brilliant people all around the world and listened to their stories and built friendships.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

James is inspired by a devotion written by the poet John Donne almost four hundred years ago, in which he states, ‘No man is an Island’. “I believe that 100% because there is no way that I would have been able to do or achieve what I have if I had been on my own. I submitted to the wisdom and care of other people. I had my girlfriend and good friends around me, I had good work colleagues around me, and of course, I had a very strong family bond. I was selfish in a lot of ways, I was preoccupied, I was on a journey, and I was going to conquer this. You have to have the right people around you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Golf is frequently called a selfish game, but for James, it has given him back a sense of community from which he realises that his choices not only affect him but also others. John Donne would have no doubt been proud that his pithy quotation, which recognises that man is a social being, that no one is self-sufficient and everyone relies on another for survival has struck a chord with James.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact EDGA<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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NB: When using any EDGA media, please comply with our <\/span>copyright conditions<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Audio: James was super competitive in everything he did, and his father Aidan once said: \u201cIf James saw two flies on the wall, he would want to see which one got to the top first.\u201d And so it was for almost all the sports that James turned his attention too, which included that most Irish … <\/p>\n

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