More than 500 people have made donations to help a young farmer with a rare genetic disorder travel more safely around his farm.

Michael Barry from Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim, was born with Xp21 contiguous gene deletion syndrome, which has led to the co-occurrence of several related disorders, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), congenital adrenal hypoplasia (CAH) and glycerol kinase deficiency (GKD).

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a terminal muscle wasting condition which causes a progressive loss of muscle in every organ and part of the body and usually affects boys.

Michael, who is eight years old, has never walked unaided and is a wheelchair user, but likes to travel around his farm to see his cows.

To help Michael enjoy his life to its full potential, his parents, Brendan and Nicola Barry, set up the ‘Help Michael Barry enjoy being out and about and farming’ GoFundMe page with the aim of buying Michael an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) with an enclosed cab to keep him dry.

The Irish Farmers Journal asked Michael and his father, Brendan, what he enjoys most about his farm.

‘Cows, tractors, quad, digger’

“Quads,” Michael says. “He loves to be able to see all the different jobs been done on the farm,” his father added.

The fundraiser was set up after Brendan and Nicola were approached by the Moran family, whose late son Ronan was friends with Michael. In conjunction with Allen Gaels GAA, they wished to donate money in memory of Ronan to help Michael get an enclosed quad.

The cost of a quad is around €20,000 and the fundraiser initially aimed to raise €10,000. However, the total amount raised so far stands at over €32,000.

The Barry family farm keeps suckler cows with the baby calves being Michael’s favourites.

When asked where is the first place he will go with the new quad, Michael says: “Nanny.”

“Michael wants to show it to all his family and friends who have helped get it for him,” Brendan says.

Michael added that his dream farm would have “cows, tractors, quad, digger”.

To donate, click here.