A Laois woman whose late brother received Ireland's first organ transplant has taken part in a special ceremony honouring organ donors.
Taking part in the donation procession were two sisters of Ted Tobin, the young man from Cullumlin, Dublin, who made history 60 years ago in December 1963 by undergoing Ireland's first organ transplant operation.
The deceased's sister, Sylvia O'Donovan, of Abbeyleaks, County Laois, brought a photograph of her brother, who was a talented musician, while his sister Jean Keogh, from Enfield, County Meath, brought one of her brother's favourite music books to the altar.
More than 1,200 people from across Ireland gathered in Mullingar for the Irish Kidney Association's 38th annual Remembrance Service and Thanksgiving.
A ceremony to honor organ donors and celebrate the gift of life to others took place at Christ the King Cathedral on Saturday afternoon, October 14. For many of the donor families, this unique ceremony marked a day of remembrance in memory of their loved ones, and for transplant recipients, it was an opportunity to honor and give thanks for the incredible “gift of life” they received.
People of all faiths, including humanists, came together to celebrate the gift of life. During the special service, music and song by the Mullingar Choir and Julianne piper Aoife Nally were interspersed among moving symbolic processions and meaningful biblical passages, reflections and expressions of gratitude, selflessness and faith in humanity.
After the ceremony, the families of the organ donors watched as the names of the deceased organ donors' families were inscribed in a “Book of Remembrance,” which is a memorial in honor of the organ donor.
Taking part in the symbolic procession and reading roles were deceased organ donors, living kidney and liver donors, and the brave families of grateful heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplant recipients, as well as mothers who received multiple organ transplants.
Also in attendance were members of the wider organ donation and transplant community, including medical, surgical and nursing staff.
Among those in attendance were Dr Catherine Motherway, Clinical Lead for the Organ Transplant Institute of Ireland (ODTI), Organ Donation Coordinator Jean O'Reilly (ODTI), Transplant Surgeon Gordon Smith (Beaumont Hospital), Transplant Coordinators Laura Austin and Andrea Fitzmaurice (Beaumont Hospital) and Carmela Malapit, a Filipina dialysis nurse at Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore and wife of a kidney transplant recipient.
During the opening procession, Army Sergeant Lavinia Connell from Athlone, whose late brother John was an organ donor, carried the cross to the altar, followed by Leanne Walsh from Tullamore, County Offaly. Her sister Michelle Kavanagh became an organ donor in 2019.
Transplant Team Ireland sports teams led a symbolic lighting ceremony, lighting candles for the congregation in honour of the blood donors. Nine-year-old Sam Kinahan, from Baldoyle in Dublin, and his father Ivan, a kidney donor, brought to the altar the medals they each won at this summer's UK Transplant Games.
Helen Nugent, from Sutton, Dublin, has attended the service every year since her brother Brendan Tyrrell's organs were donated in 1987, while Gerald and Margaret Reidy, from Loughoil West, Limerick, have been attending the service since their daughter Miriam died in 1997.
Parents of organ donors who took on readings and processional roles at the funeral included Kate Hines from Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, who remembers her son Jonathan, who passed away in 2012; Kevin Fitzpatrick from Collinstown, Co Westmeath, who lost his beloved son Darren in 2018; Ellis Carlin from Croghan, Co Donegal, who lost his son Tony in 2019; Michael Kerrigan from Muff, Co Donegal, who lost his son Cormac earlier this year; and Eddie Barnes from Macroom, Co Cork, who lost his baby son Harvey in a car accident 17 years ago.
Sisters Lauren and Niamh Davies, from Athy, Co Kildare, became organ donors after their mother Ashling died from a fatal brain haemorrhage in 2017, and carried a large donor card to the altar.
Transplant patients who have played a role in the service include liver transplant recipient Declan Gorman, from Mullingar, and Frances Little, also from Mullingar, who was on dialysis for 16 years before undergoing life-changing transplant surgery last year. A prayer of thanks to living donors was read by kidney transplant recipient and former County Westmeath footballer John Egan, from Athlone, whose father-in-law donated his kidney to him. John has since married and become a father. A prayer was also read by Sinead Lowndes, from Dublin 15, who received a multiple organ transplant in the UK in 2019, including a liver, pancreas, part of the intestine and colon, and an abdominal wall transplant.
Edel O'Brien Farrell, a well-known Mullingar businesswoman, has been the recipient of two living donor kidney transplants. Edel's mother, Moira O'Brien, donated a kidney to her as a child 45 years ago. The transplant eventually failed after 40 years and Edel's daughter, Laura Farrell, donated a kidney to her mother last year. Each of the three generations brought a basket of forget-me-nots, the Irish Kidney Society's coat of arms and symbol of transplantation, to the altar.
Members of Transplant Team Ireland who took part in the candle lighting ceremony included heart transplant recipient and transplant football team member John Brennan from Tarranttown, County Louth, double lung transplant recipient Jack Bentley from Dublin, from Lusk, and liver transplant recipient Jason Flynn from Ballyfermot.
Other transplant athletes who took part in the World Transplant Games and European Transplant Games who took part in the candle ceremony included kidney/pancreas transplant recipient O'Daghan Cullen from Loughduff, Cavan, Michelle Reinhardt-McCabe from Smithborough, Monaghan, Sheila Gregan from Nenagh, Tipperary, Theresa Smith from Dunmore/Williamstown, Galway, Finian Farrell from Mullingar, County Westmeath, Patrick O'Sullivan from Mallow, County Cork, and Dubliners team captains Harry Ward (Baldoyle), Ron Grainger (Castleknock) and John Moran (Glasnevin).
The service was narrated by Eddie Flood, Honorary National President of the Irish Kidney Association and kidney transplant recipient from Killcan, Co. Westmeath. Flood thanked everyone who helped make the service happen, and thanked the Catholic Bishop of Meath, Archbishop Thomas Deenihan and Archbishop Phil Gaffney, for hosting the service at the Cathedral, and the Revd Barry White, the chief celebrant. Flood also thanked Fr Stan Deegan, priest of the local Killcan parish, Fr Alastair Graham, priest of the Church of Ireland, Mario Martins, missionary for Youth for Christ Ireland, and Louise Birchall, who represented the Irish Humane Society.
This unique service will be the first to be held in the Midlands and only the second time it has been held outside Dublin since its inception, and this year's service marks the return to an in-person gathering after three consecutive years of being a televised virtual event due to the impact of COVID-19.
A confidential database of organ donor families is kept by Organ Donation Transplant Ireland.
The service will be recorded by Kairos and broadcast on RTÉ One TV and RTÉ Radio One Extra on November 5 at 11am.
People who wish to support organ donation are encouraged to share their wishes with their family and to always be reminded of their decision by carrying an organ donor card, recording the code 115 on their driving licence or installing the 'Digital Organ Donor Card' app on their smartphone. Organ donor cards can be requested by visiting the IKA website at www.ika.ie/get-a-donor-card, calling the Irish Kidney Association on 01 6205306 or by free texting the word DONOR to 50050.
