Beautiful seven-year-old Tony Lafferty, two-year-old Bobby Lafferty and six-year-old Liam Mooney all have a deadly disease - Duchene Muscular Distrophy - that will leave them wheelchair bound before they reach their teens – unless revolutionary research will help save them.

But despite groundbreaking research being explored at a Newcastle University, health ministers here have refused to help fund the project which could help more than a hundred Irish boys who have the debilitating illness.

Both parents, Karen and Joe Lafferty from Carndonagh and Mary and Jimmy Mooney from Malin, have spent the past two years vigorously campaigning to get the Irish government to make a financial contribution to the UK-based research, because there is none of this kind in Ireland,

The promising clinical trials could reduce the severity of the condition and it could significantly improve quality and length of life for people with the relentless disease.

Clumsy child

Devastated mum Karen said she noticed there was something wrong with Tony when he was at playschool.

She said he seemed to be falling over a lot compared to the other children, but after initial visitors to GPs and pediatricians she was told he was simply a 'clumsy child and nothing can be done for him'.

But Karen said she knew something was wrong and after a third visit to the hospital doctors finally detected a problem in Tony's blood.

It indicated there was severe stress on the muscle tissue.

And it was only when the family went to Dublin back in 2005 Tony's illness was diagnosed and the family were told of the extent of it.

Karen was pregnant at the time with Bobby.

It was a double blow for the family to receive the heart-wrenching news Tony was ill and it was likely her newborn child – Bobby – would also have the life-threatening condition.

She said: "To be told there was nothing for you, that there is no hope for your child.

"You'll just have to watch them die - and then to be told it is the same for your unborn child, that you will watch both of your children die; I cannot explain how that felt.

"And then for the government to turn round and say there is nothing they can do to help this research, well it is just devastating."

Bobby was also diagnosed with the condition.

For the Mooney family, it was a similar story.