Grateful transplant recipients, living kidney and liver donors and courageous families of deceased organ donors from Athlone and its immediate hinterland were numbered amongst those in attendance for the Irish Kidney Association 38th Annual Service of Remembrance & Thanksgiving in Mullingar recently.
The Service, which honours organ donors and celebrates their gift of life to others, was held at the Cathedral of Christ the King. For many donor families the unique service has become an anniversary to both remember their loved ones, and for transplant recipients, the opportunity to honour and give thanks for the wonderful ‘gift of life’ they have received.
Individuals of all faiths, non-religious including Humanist, came together to celebrate the gift of life. During the special service music and song, by Mullingar Choral Society and Uilleann piper Aoife Nally, were interspersed between poignant symbolic processions and meaningful scripture, reflections and expressions of gratitude, selflessness, and faith in humanity. Following the service, organ donor families viewed the name of their deceased donor loved one inscribed in the Book of Remembrance, a roll of honour for organ donors.
In the opening procession Army Sergeant Lavinia Connell from Athlone, whose late brother John was an organ donor, carried the cross to the altar and she was followed by Leanne Walsh from Tullamore whose sister Michelle Kavanagh became an organ donor in 2019.
Reading a prayer of thanksgiving for living donors was kidney transplant recipient and former Athlone and Westmeath senior footballer John Egan, whose father-in-law donated a kidney to him. John has since wed and become a father.
The Irish Kidney Association’s national honorary chairman, Eddie Flood, a kidney transplant recipient from County Westmeath, performed the role of narrator at the Service. While acknowledging all who contributed to the event, Mr Flood thanked the Catholic Bishop of Meath, Most Reverend Thomas Deenihan, Very Reverend Phil Gaffney and Chief Celebrant at the Service Reverend Barry White, for hosting the Service in the Cathedral. Mr. Flood also thanked co-celebrant Fr. Stan Deegan, P.P. from his local parish, Killucan, as well as co-celebrant Reverend Canon Alastair Graham, Church of Ireland, Evangelist Mario Martins from Youth for Christ Ireland, and Louise Burchall, who represented the Humanist Association of Ireland.
For the first time since its inception, this unique service, was held in the Midlands, and it will be the second time only for it to be held outside of Dublin. This year’s service saw the return to an in-person gathering, following three consecutive years of a televised virtual event due to Covid.
The service was recorded by Kairos and will be broadcast on RTÉ One TV and RTÉ Radio One Extra on 5th November at 11am.
Individuals who wish to support organ donation are encouraged to Share their Wishes with their family and keep the reminders of their decision available by carrying the organ donor card, permitting Code 115 to be included on their driver’s licence or having the ‘digital organ donor card’ App on their smartphone. Organ Donor Cards can be requested by visiting the IKA website www.ika.ie/get-a-donor-card or by phoning the Irish Kidney Association on 01 6205306 or Free text the word DONOR to 50050.
