Sam\u2019s only took up wheelchair hurling last year, having been persuaded by friends on her wheelchair basketball team to give it a go.
\u201cI thought it wouldn\u2019t have been for me, but I decided to give it a try, and I loved it,\u201d she said. \u201cI was hooked from the first night I went. It\u2019s brilliant.\u201d
She first played with the North West Wolves basketball team in the Derry\/Donegal area before joining the Craigavon Lakers when the Wolves folded. Wheelchair hurling sessions are held on Tuesday nights in Cookstown, and more recently in Draperstown.
Earlier this season, her Ulster side were beaten by a single point in the interprovincial semi-final – a loss that still stings. \u201cIt was horrendous – it\u2019d be better to be beat by ten points than one!\u201d
The sport can be physical, and Sam doesn\u2019t shy away from the rough and tumble. She even picked up a black eye recently when a hurley slipped through her helmet faceguard.
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit more rough and tumble than the basketball, but I like it – you have to give as good as you get.\u201d
Moving from wheelchair hurling to floorball has brought new challenges. In floorball, players can\u2019t lift the ball or raise the stick above the wheel – a key difference from hurling. \u201cIt\u2019s all ground hurling, so to speak, and no handling is allowed,\u201d Sam explained. \u201cIt\u2019s played with a longer stick, a little like an ice-hockey stick. I found that a bit difficult at the start. There\u2019s a lot of technical differences, but once you get used to it, it\u2019s not too bad.
\u201cIf you lift the stick above the wheel in floorball, you\u2019re sent to the sinbin. I may get used to the sinbin,\u201d she laughed.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ININ_15-10-25_Sam_McColgan_(2)-1760977786662.JPG\")
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Overcoming adversity
Sam\u2019s journey to this point is remarkable. When she acquired her disability, the prognosis was bleak and the prospect of living independently seemed remote. Participating in sport was out of the question.
\u201cI acquired my disability in 2014, and suffered a significant loss of power,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI had personal assistants in the house, five or six times a day. I went from being a mammy to needing a mammy and needed a whole lot of help.
\u201cI found it very hard to deal with. My personal assistants would put me to bed at half six or seven o\u2019clock in the evening, that was my allocated time.
\u201cMy top half was so weak. But I joined a gym, started doing my own training sessions and got stronger.
\u201cThings kinda fell into place after that. I met a girl whose son was playing wheelchair basketball in Derry, and she put me onto it. I loved the basketball, then it progressed to wheelchair hurling and now to floorball.\u201d
Today, Sam gives talks in schools and to groups, sharing her story to encourage others living with disability.
\u201cTo be honest, I want to be the person that I needed back when I acquired my disability,\u201d she said. \u201cNo disrespect to doctors or carers, but they were just kinda ticking boxes. My needs were being catered for, but I couldn\u2019t live like that.
\u201cI want to speak to people that find themselves in the position I found myself in. I tell them that it\u2019s difficult, probably the worst thing that can happen, but emphasise that their life isn\u2019t over.
\u201cBack at the start, I wondered what kind of life was I going to have. I thought my life was over. But it\u2019s far from it. Other than walking, I can do everything now and it\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ININ_15-10-25_Sam_McColgan_(5)-1760977820687.JPG\")
<\/p>\n
\u2018Sport the number one medicine\u2019
Sam credits sport with transforming her life, both physically and mentally.
\u201cI genuinely believe that sport is the number one medicine. The effect it has had on me has been phenomenal. I know that I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today if it wasn\u2019t for sport. My life would be so much more difficult and smaller if it wasn\u2019t for sport.\u201d
Sport also gave her back her independence. After being told she would never drive again, Sam was determined to prove otherwise.
\u201cI was like a dog with a bone. I annoyed the hell out of anyone who\u2019d listen to me, telling them that I needed to drive.\u201d
She\u2019s been driving since 2019 – a milestone that changed everything. \u201cNow, I just go out, hop in the car, throw the chair over and head wherever I need to go. I\u2019d never have the freedom to do my sport if I needed someone to give up so much of their time to take me to training and the rest. When I learned to drive again, it definitely opened a lot of new doors.\u201dSam\u2019s sons, Alex (15) and Mason (5), are proud of their mum\u2019s achievements.
\u201cMason is only five, he can\u2019t believe his mammy is going away and leaving him for a few nights. Alex is 15, so he\u2019s saying it\u2019s happy days and he\u2019ll have peace to do what he wants,\u201d she laughed. \u201cSome of our games are streamed, and when Mason sees me playing he likes to see his mammy on TV.\u201d
Sam, who has become Inishowen\u2019s first international wheelchair hurler, continues to break new ground. She hopes Ireland can make their mark in Holland – and maybe avoid another agonising one-point loss.
\u201cPlease God we don\u2019t lose another game by a point – I think Paul Callaghan would lose his mind if we did,\u201d she laughed.
Her determination, humour and passion for sport have made her an inspiration both on and off the court. She wore that black eye she got playing for Ulster as a badge of honour, dismissing suggestions from friends to use concealing make-up.
Not a chance.
\u201cYou want to see the looks people give me when I told them I got the black eye playing hurley,\u201d she laughs mischievously. \u201cThey\u2019re looking at my wheelchair, wondering whether I\u2019m half right in the head when I\u2019m chatting about playing hurley.\u201d
Later this week, in a quiet moment in a sports arena in Holland, she\u2019ll think back to where she was ten years ago and marvel at where she\u2019s got to.
Then the ball will be thrown-in, and it\u2019ll be game on for Sam McColgan.<\/p>\n
The Ireland squad for the 2025 Para-Floorball Tournament
* Sean Bennett (Kilkenny)
* Ciar\u00e1n Bradley (Down) \u2013 Captain
* Shane Curran (Galway)
* Darren Dineen (Limerick)
* Paul Hannan (Armagh)
* Cian Horgan (Kerry)
* James McCarthy (Limerick)
* Sam McColgan (Donegal)
* Stephen Melvin (Sligo)
* Jason Muldoon (Derry)
* Maurice Noonan (Limerick) \u2013 Vice Captain
* Ellie Sheehy (Limerick)<\/p>\n
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