WE WERE all very saddened by the untimely death of Mr Fred Donohue following a brief illness. Fred is greatly missed by all of us, but particularly by his wife, Kitty, his son John, his sister Teresa, his extended family and his large circle of friends.
Fred was a native of Scramoge, Co Roscommon, and began his career in public service in Roscommon County Council in November 1947. He moved to Dublin County Council in June 1954, and joined the newly formed Health Authority in 1960. After his retirement in October 1990, Fred did some preparatory planning on the proposed re-organisation of the Eastern Health Board. This work was taken over by various ministerial committees and is now being pursued by the Task Force set up by Mr Michael Noonan in the context of the re-organisation of the Eastern Health Board and the development of the new Eastern Health Authority. This was a fitting finale to a career which encompassed most of the major developments in the Irish health service since the foundation of the State, in which Fred was either involved directly, or made a major contribution.
(1) the setting-up of the Dublin Health Authority in 1960;
(2) the setting-up of the Eastern Health Board in 1971;
(3) the development of the community services;
(4) the replacement of the Poor Law system of health delivery with the modern concept of health service as an entitlement, including Choice of Doctor and General Medical Services Schemes;
(5) the curtailment of T.B. and other infectious diseases and the streamlining of the public health system;
(6) the development of psychotropic drugs for persons with mental illness and the more recent re-organisation of the mental health service - Planning for the Future;
(7) the rationalisation of the Dublin hospitals;
(8) the development of child care services and wide-ranging services for people with disabilities.
As Community Care Programme Manager since the foundation of the Health Board in 1971, Fred built up the community health and welfare services. Those services, although built on solid foundations, were amenable to adaptation to meet the changing needs of society.
He brought cohesion to voluntary and statutory organisations in a joint effort to achieve the development of the services. In bringing this about, he was as likely to be in the company of archbishops, reverend mothers or rabbis, as he was with secretaries of Government Departments, city managers, and his own team in the board. Nobody could match Fred in his unwavering and equitable attitude to each person who came his way, right down to the man or woman in the street.
Fred qualified with a B.L. in 1959 and during his career he linked together all the best qualities of rural and city life. He had the unique ability to empathise with any individual or any situation, and deal with each unique case in an equitable and transparent manner.
Although he moved to Dublin in 1954, he always maintained contact with Scramoge, and had a particular commitment to his cousin who has a disability problem. We all remember Fred's capacity to disengage from a work situation, however pressing, to respond to a call for help from someone in need.
Fred was a member of many organisations, both statutory and voluntary, and spoke with particular pride of his involvement in organisations which dealt with those most in need, particularly the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Fred was a devoted family man and the manner in which he spoke of his wife Kitty, his son John, his sister Teresa and his cousin Elma, showed a particular type of love which is hard to express.