Paralympic Games: Shooting has helped Eaglesham focus on turning his life around

The picture spoke to Philip Eaglesham, carrying a greater resonance than any words or counselling: three smiling boys hugging their father, delighting in having watched him shoot for Ireland at the Rio Paralympics in 2016.

It was a beautiful snapshot, particularly poignant for those who knew the backstory of the Dungannon-born former Royal Marine commando. Two years previously, unable to bear the mental torment, the depression, the practical implications and legacy of Q-Fever – contracted on his second tour of Afghanistan in 2010 – that had forced him into a wheelchair, he felt compelled to make an attempt on his life.

He explained at the time: “Not being able to play with my children affected me more than I could ever explain. Even things like playing with Lego or building a jigsaw puzzle [was] difficult. I get tired and frustrated very quickly. I tried to take my own life. I’d just had enough of the deterioration and the impact it was having on my wife, the kids, others around me.”

That he didn’t succeed or persevere in his goal is attributable to a number of factors, primarily his wife Julie, but also micro changes in his life, receiving help and counselling from a variety of sources including Help the Heroes, the British military charity and the Somerset Partnership (an NHS Foundation) an organisation where he lives in the West Country in England.

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That's one of my favourite pictures of the three boys, their smiles and how proud they were

Sport, and specifically shooting, gave him a focus in his life, restoring a sense of self worth. Catching up with him again prior to setting off for the Paralympics in Tokyo he outlined the impact of the picture. “I always struggled with how I perceived the boys saw me after getting injured and ending up in a wheelchair; going from a physically active person to someone needing care.

“That’s one of my favourite pictures of the three boys, their smiles and how proud they were. That sort of turned things around, they can see that no matter what happens you can still go on and do great things.”

Five years on the boys have grown, Travis is now 18-years-old and into skateboarding, Tyler (14) does a little shooting and kickboxing, while Mason (11) also enjoys kickboxing. There is one other noticeable difference between then and now; Eaglesham no longer sports a beard. He explained: “The beard was all about mental health, it was my disguise.

“Two years ago, prior to winning a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships in Sydney, I felt that it was time to get rid [of it], that I had dealt with the demons, move on with my life and look at the future and the person behind the beard.”

It took him a long time to adjust the way he felt mentally and physically, being in a wheelchair and a loss of independence. He would argue that he hasn’t fully come to terms with it but possesses enough coping mechanisms thanks to counselling “to allow me to get on with life. In doing that I am able to look to the future.”

It is one that includes a project that is dear to him in a practical way. He said: “I have been developing a wheelchair; I will actually have the pre-production prototypes in Tokyo. For me that will change my life. The things that it can do and the ability it will give me to [do them] is amazing.

“I have been doing that for six years and we are finally there. That has been a real passion to try and make a difference for other people and for myself.” Eaglesham uses the term “disabling” in looks terms to describe the current models; they don’t look cool.

His prototype is different superficially and practically. “You can drive around at five foot nine [in height]. It’ll go up kerbs, it’s got a small turning circle, it has the same torque and power as a two-litre diesel engine, it has four-wheel drive, is road legal and is small enough to go through [standard] doors. It’s been designed for the living really to get on with things.

“A lot of time we sit and wait for the world to adapt to us. We are one of the most discriminated against [group of] people in the world as disabled people. You go out the front door and there will be a kerbstone or step and someone has parked there and you can’t get up it. People don’t see it unless you are in that world.

“We tried to design something that adapts to the world rather than waiting for the world to adapt to us.” The chair is electric but Eaglesham will have batteries to power the chair in Tokyo. The name of his website is Victor Mobility. The wheelchair that’s on it is not the one that he’ll be using. He hasn’t shown that to anyone, intrigued to watch the reaction when they’re confronted with the spanking new model.

He’d love to start production in the new year but that’s predicated on several issues including whether it has to be outsourced to third parties, the cost and sourcing of some components and one or two other things.

We are trying to take the things that we have learned, or my friends have learned, and encompass that. It's all about ability, not disability, trying to enable and not disable

“The wheelchair market isn’t very well serviced. When a wheelchair breaks it can be away for weeks or months. We are trying to set up a service line so that if something did break which it shouldn’t, you will have an engineer with you in 24 hours or the chair replaced until yours is fixed.

“I know what it is like to not have that chair. We are trying to take the things that we have learned, or my friends have learned, and encompass that. It’s all about ability, not disability, trying to enable and not disable.”

He spent the majority of his preparation time ahead of the Paralympics in Gibraltar primarily because they offered facilities that weren’t available in Ireland or Britain during the pandemic. He’s competing in the R4 (10-metre air rifle standing), R5 (10-metre air rifle prone), R9 (50-metre 22 rifle prone). In the first two categories the bullseye is 0.05 millimetres while the round in the 22 rifle is six millimetres and the target 11.

The absence of formal competition denies an obvious form line ahead of Tokyo but Eaglesham is ranked third in the world in his favourite event, the R9. Practice in the company of his coach, Kildare’s Seán Baldwin, a former Paralympic shooter himself and ex Irish army man, has been excellent, breaking world records.

The challenge is to replicate that in Tokyo. But simply being there competing is a massive achievement contextually for Eaglesham whether he manages to fulfil his sporting ambition of being the first Paralympic champion in the R9 classification or not. He’s already won the most important battle.