Disability activist and thalidomide survivor Jacqui Browne was “a woman of conviction and compassion”, mourners were told at her funeral Mass on Friday.
Ms Browne, who was from Co Kerry, died peacefully at her home on Monday aged 63.
The funeral Mass took place at St John’s Church, Tralee, with chief celebrant Fr Tadhg Fitzgerald remembering Ms Browne as “an incredible campaigner”, “a woman of conviction and compassion” and a “tireless worker for change”.
Fr Fitzgerald told mourners that Ms Browne, whom he first met more than 25 years ago, was “someone who stood up when it would have been easier to sit down, someone who spoke out when silence would have been more comfortable”.
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Symbols of Ms Browne’s life brought to the altar by members of her family included a sailing jacket, representing her love of the sea, nature and outdoors; a publication on the role of the Disabled Persons Organisations’ Network in Ireland; and photographs of her “beloved dog” Sandy and “feline friend” Lorenzo.
A guard of honour was formed by Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and an Irish Sign Language interpreter was present for the Mass.
Ms Browne is survived by her siblings Michélè (Clement), Donal J, Kevin and Sharon, nieces and nephew Gabrielle, Ciara, Sophie and Daniel, sister-in-law Lorna and brother-in-law Peter.
Speaking to the congregation, Donal J Browne said learning the extent of his sister’s legacy in the days since her death had “really stunned” him and the rest of the family.
Recalling his earliest memory of Jacqui, on the day she was born, Mr Browne said: “I remember my late father’s battered second-hand petrol green coloured Skoda pulled into the kerbside outside 10 Basin View, Tralee with a small Moses basket and little did we know what a storm was about to fall on us.”
He added: “At 4½ years of age I could feel the palpable excitement and joy at this little bundle coming into our lives. She certainly raised the bar for us every day of our lives.”
Thalidomide was a medication introduced in the mid-1950s to counter morning sickness, but was withdrawn from most markets in 1961 after widespread evidence of it leading to birth defects. However, it remained on Irish shelves until 1964. The medication led to deformities and the deaths of thousands of babies across the world.
Many children of women who took the drug in pregnancy were born without or with shortened limbs, with hearing and vision impairments and injuries to internal organs.
Mourners heard how Ms Browne underwent several operations throughout her life due to the condition and became “isolated” from her family at just five-year-old as a boarder at the Cabra School for the Deaf in Dublin.
Despite her disability, the Mass heard, she “engaged in every sport she could manage in school”. In later life, Ms Browne remained an active sailor, competing in the Clipper Round The World Race in 2010.
“Today is not a day to criticise the Government for its failures to the thalidomide community,” said Mr Browne, adding that “Jacqui’s crusade of more than 40 years and my parents’ crusade of over 63 years” was not over.
Mr Browne called on the Government to issue “an apology and an acknowledgment” to survivors of thalidomide. He said a healthcare package for survivors was “urgently required”.
Mr Browne concluded by saying “the truth will never die”, which drew strong applause from the congregation.
In an interview with The Irish Times last year, Ms Browne said that receiving a State apology would give her closure and “take this big cloud off from over my head”.
