17 February 2017

A Family Fun Walk organised by Eileen Murphy and the family and friends of the late Pat Murphy RIP, and Banteer Lyre GAA Clubs, which took place on January 2nd, has raised €18,713.80 for the Mercy University Hospital ICU Unit.

 

The event took place at Banteer Sportsfield /Park in memory of Pat also marked the occasion of Pat’s birthday. Pat Murphy, a name synonymous with Banteer /Lyre GAA for the past 30 years, passed away at the Mercy Hospital Cork on Sunday, May 29th last year so it was fitting that funds raised go to the Mercy.

 

Pat was born in Glen North, Banteer. He was educated at Laharn National School, Colaiste Therese, Greenmount, Cork and Scoil Mhuire Kanturk. After completing his leaving Certificate Pat took up a position with the HSE and qualified in 1982 as a Psychiatric Nurse. He spent 30 years working in Our Lady’s Hospital and Carrig Mor and transferred to the Inis Carraig Centre, Western Road in 2009 where he worked until his recent passing. Pat was actively involved with SIPTU. At the time of his passing, Pat was Shop Steward in Inniscarrig Centre at Erinville Complex, Western Road, Cork. He was a Trade Unionist for 35 years and at the time of his passing was on the National Nursing and Midwife Sector Committee and Health Division Executive Committee.

 

Pat spent the past 30 years living in Ballymacmurragh, Kanturk which is in the Parish of Castlemagner with his wife Eileen but his GAA loyalty was always with Banteer/Lyre. A major loss to the club and indeed the wider GAA family, Pat was actively involved in the GAA scene from club to division to County Board level. His greatest GAA and community legacy however, was the publication of his book, ‘A View from Mount Hillary’, containing the history of the club and the wider Duhallow area from 1886 to 2003, a unique record of all sporting activities and other significant social events that occurred over the century.

 

Funds raised by the sponsored walk were presented to Micheál Sheridan, CEO of the Mercy Hospital Foundation and Dr Jemma Brown, Dr John Dowling, Ester O’Riordan and Elaine Hanna from the ICU at the Mercy University Hospital, at a special event on Thursday, February 9th in the Glen Theatre, Banteer.

 

The money raised has been used to purchase two Laryngoscopes and five bedside care trolleys that will be used at the point of delivery of care in the ICU, replacing trolleys which are no longer fit for purpose.

 

Dr. Donall O’Croinin, ‎Consultant Anaesthetist at the Mercy University Hospital said “People who are having surgery or who are critically ill, may need to be have a breathing tube put into their trachea (windpipe). There are some people in whom it is very difficult to get the breathing tube into the correct position. The Laryngoscopes are potentially lifesaving pieces of equipment that will help me and my colleagues to deliver the best standards of care possible for our patients”

 

Funds raised enabled the ICU to purchase trolley units with a specification that will allows all a patient’s bedside needs to be met at the bed space. Speaking about the new trollies, Catherine Buttimer, Assistant Director of Nursing at the Mercy University Hospital said “The ICU environment can be challenging for families and patients and so it is important that we have a space to store personal belongings such as gowns, slippers and their own personal toiletries, so that when we start to mobilise and rehabilitate the patient we have everything they need to hand. In addition an essential need is the increased efficiency within the department, as when an emergency occurs, lifesaving equipment is readily available at the bed space in these high spec trollies.”

 

Thanking everyone who supported the Family Fun Walk in any way, and the family of Pat Murphy; Micheál Sheridan, CEO of the Mercy Hospital Foundation said “Our mission is to inspire people to support advancements in research, diagnosis, treatments and care of patients at The Mercy University Hospital, the People’s Hospital. We promise to do our very best to provide you with a world class hospital, right on your doorstep, and this is only possible through the help of our supporters and donors like those that stepped out on January 2nd, honouring the late Pat Murphy.”

 

For more information on the Mercy Hospital Foundation and how funds raised help, call (021) 4274076 or visit www.mercyfundraising.ie.