Billy Gilleran shares experience living with MS: MS Ireland's World MS Day 2026

For Billy Gilleran from Westmeath, World MS Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis and help more people understand the realities of living with the condition.

World MS Day is observed globally on 30 May each year.

It is a day to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis, share experiences and bring people together across the MS community.

This year’s global theme is diagnosis, recognising that for many people, diagnosis can be life-changing and can bring uncertainty, questions and emotion.

In Ireland, MS Ireland is marking World MS Day 2026 through its national awareness campaign, MS Journeys: Many Faces, One Community, sharing stories from people living with MS across Ireland throughout May.

Each journey is different, but together they reflect the strength, resilience and support found within the MS community.

Billy’s story is being shared as part of this campaign. For him, World MS Day matters because “it raises awareness and opens eyes to the greater community.”

Living with MS has been deeply difficult, but Billy also speaks about the ways it has revealed new parts of himself.

He says: “Be kind to yourself and go with the flow. MS is an unforgiving condition that has taken so much away from me, but has unlocked my potential in other ways.”

While MS has not changed who he is as a person, Billy says it has changed him physically and made him more resilient.

His advice to someone newly diagnosed is practical and hopeful: “Stay on top of your exercise from early on, new treatments are always emerging and getting better so keep yourself well informed.”

Family support has been central to Billy’s journey. He says his immediate family have always been supportive and encourage him in any way they can.

However, he also highlights the difficulty that can come from a lack of wider understanding, saying one of the things that surprised him most was “how difficult it is to live with this condition, due to lack of empathy and understanding.”

Among the biggest challenges he faces are accessibility and being seen beyond his wheelchair.

“Accessibility, getting people to see you as you once were and looking beyond the wheelchair,” he says.

Music has become one of Billy’s most important ways of managing emotionally.

“Playing and writing music… I hold my negative thoughts towards the condition within these songs so I can leave it there.”

Billy is also proud of what he has achieved while living with MS.

“I opened my own music school in 2022 which has been successful.

"I have participated in the MS Ireland May 50K challenge and raised €17,000.”

Through stories like Billy’s, MS Ireland’s World MS Day campaign aims to build understanding, challenge misconceptions and remind people living with MS that they are part of a strong and supportive community.