'Éamonn's generosity gave four people the chance to live full lives again'

MARTINA GOGGINtells about the decision to donate her son's organs after a road traffic accident

I REMEMBER everything so clearly, from the time I heard the knock on my front door that bright summer’s morning to now, almost five years later. Learning and developing coping mechanisms is ongoing as I live daily with the unspoken loneliness of the loss of my son and only child, Éamonn.

Éamonn was really into music, working as a sound engineer with Charlie Lennon in Cuan Recording Studios in An Spidéal, but also worked with his dad, Denis, in our stone business in Galway.

He had an apartment in town, but regularly stayed at home, and was at home that night. I remember getting ready to go to hear Mairtín O’Connor playing at a gig in Galway, and Éamonn was meeting friends in one of the local pubs in the village to hear a band he knew playing.

He suggested I call in on my way back from Galway as he was enthusiastic about these musicians. I thought about it on my way home, but didn’t call in, something I regret to this day.

Later that night, on a by-road not far from the village, the car in which Éamonn and his friends were travelling went out of control. Éamonn was the only one injured. He was in the front passenger seat and was hit by the impact of a pillar on his side of the car.

He was taken to University College Hospital and, looking back on it now, it was obvious the staff knew from the beginning that he had no chance, but during the five days while he was on life support they did everything possible to help save him.

I don’t recall the name of the doctor, but it was four days after the accident. I remember a tall man walked into the room, and explained that Éamonn’s chances were very slim as his brain injuries were so severe. He then asked if, in the event of Éamonn not pulling through, we would consider donating his organs.

That was far from our thoughts at that stage as we were so distraught and still hoping for the miracle – but we are so glad he asked.

I carried a donor card myself and had discussed it with Éamonn who, true to his giving nature, of course, agreed, but never actually got around to filling anything out. Luckily, I knew what his wishes would be and so Denis and I had no hesitation, and agreed straight away.

The staff at the hospital in Galway were wonderful, as was Beaumont Hospital co-ordinator Phyllis Cunningham, who helped us through those last days. We were present by Éamonn’s bedside for all the checks they had to carry out as part of the organ donation procedure, and felt very much part of it.

I have to say we have never looked back on that decision and it is a continuing source of comfort to us to know that, as a result of Éamonn’s generosity, there are four people who were given the chance to live full lives again. It helps me sometimes to think that maybe there is some reason for it all.

You aren’t told who the recipients are, and they never know the name of their donor, but there is a facility through the transplant co-ordinators to write to your donor. We haven’t heard anything from the recipients of Éamonn’s organs, but I do think of them a lot and hope they are all doing well, and maybe someday we’ll hear from them.

Afterwards, we had a sense that we would like to reach out, and to let people know about the work that takes place to give others this wonderful chance of a new life. And we also wanted to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation.

We thought of recording something, as I’ve been involved in music all my life and this was something Éamonn and I shared so much.

Our friend, Eleanor Shanley, said she would be delighted to record a piece of music, as it happened, Strange Boat, written by Mike Scott and Anthony Thistlethwaite of The Waterboys, which Éamonn had suggested to her when she was visiting us just months earlier.

It was exactly a year after the accident when we got together in Cuan Studios and recorded the CD single. Working on the project with Eleanor, was Alec Finn, Sharon Shannon, Paul O’Driscoll, Mike Scott and Eddi Reader. I don’t know how I got through the recording that day but I did.

Charlie Lennon had also been working on another piece, which he had composed and was recording with Éamonn at the time of the accident. This piece of music he subsequently called Sound Man Éamonn, dedicating it to Éamonn, and this we also included on the CD single.

In early 2008, we initiated the Strange Boat Donor Foundation, publicised both it and the CD single, and set up a dedicated organ donation website. It aims to highlight issues relating to organ donation and serve as a contact point for people seeking information and support. It focuses on people and their stories and gives comfort, inspiration and encouragement.

One of the stories on the website was posted by Patsy Curtis from Sligo, whose daughter was an organ donor following a motor accident in South Africa. She writes of the great comfort and peace she has received from knowing that her daughter is among those remembered in a memorial garden established in the suburbs of Johannesburg.

Coincidentally, at that same time, we were thinking of how lovely it would be to have a special place to remember organ donors here in Ireland.

So we approached Galway City Council with the idea of establishing a national commemorative garden in Salthill Park, as a place of sanctuary and reflection.

The overall design will be that of a central stone sculpture area, surrounded by rich sensual vegetation set out in the overall form of a flower, and encompassing a series of pathways.

Denis and his colleague Reamonn Ó Flaithearta, who is a skilled carver, will be centrally involved in the creation and construction.

We hope to source stone from iconic sites in each county, representing donors from the 32 counties of Ireland. We will also have two stones to represent Irish people who have donated organs abroad, and visitors who have donated organs here.

The concept for the garden has received widespread support from Beaumont Hospital’s Organ Procurement Service and transplant coordinators, from the Irish Donor Network and the Irish Kidney Association. We’re working with Galway City Council on the layout and design, and are preparing the planning application at the moment.

We have named this planned garden Circle of Life and the funding of the project will be channelled through Strange Boat Donor Foundation. If it all goes according to plan, we’d hope to have it open for next spring.

That morning in July 2006, my world was rocked to its very core and the future seemed like a very daunting and black place. Finding a purpose and meaning to it all was, and still is, my daily struggle, but focusing on something as positive and profoundly noble as organ donation, gives me comfort and helps the healing process.

We hope that this planned garden of commemoration and thanksgiving will help bring healing, consolation and inspiration to all who visit it.

Further information and contact details are on strangeboat.org. The organisation would welcome any thoughts or suggestions regarding funding or any other aspect of the project.

In conversation with Lorna Siggins