Clare Garda opens procession at Irish Kidney Association's service of remembrance

Garda Alan Murphy, from Ennis, led the opening procession at this year's Irish Kidney Association’s annual service of remembrance and thanksgiving.

Garda Murphy, who is stationed in Clifden, took part in this event after his brother Garry passed away at the age of 19 in 2005. He and his famiy then made the decision to donate his organs.

Held at the Church of the Holy Child in Dublin on Saturday, September 27, the service drew a congregation of over 1,000 people. 

The poignant event honoured deceased organ donors and their families, while celebrating the renewed lives of transplant recipients. Now in its 40th year, it has become a deeply meaningful gathering for this community, many of whom attend every year to reflect, remember and give thanks.

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This inclusive ceremony brought together celebrants from various faith traditions and non-religious worldviews, each united in their support for organ donation as the ultimate act of humanity. 

The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, patron to the Irish Kidney Association, wrote a letter of support. This was read aloud at the service by Colin White, husband of a dialysis patient and National Advocacy & Projects Manager for the Irish Kidney Association. In the President’s message, he said, “On this 40th anniversary of the Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving, may I extend my support and thanksgiving for the great gift of organ donation, which has transformed and enriched so many lives, allowing new possibilities and new opportunities for recipients and their loved ones.”

The service was opened by Liz O’Sullivan, Chairperson of the Irish Kidney Association (IKA), with guest narrators Martina Goggin and Sallyanne Clarke, both bereaved mothers who have become prominent advocates for organ donation. 

The event also included symbolic processions of donor families and transplant recipients bringing gifts to the altar, musical performances from the Whitehall Church Adult Choir, harpist and vocalist Marina Cassidy, and soloist Keith Matthews, and the lighting of remembrance candles during the Service of Light. The names of deceased organ donors were honoured through entry into the Book of Remembrance, available for viewing by their loved ones. 

The Service of Light was facilitated by members of Transplant Sport Ireland, who lit candles for the congregation, symbolising the enduring connection between organ donors and those whose lives they transformed. They were invited to place handwritten remembrance cards bearing the names of their loved ones into baskets at the altar. These cards will be incorporated in the Circle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative Garden in Salthill, Galway, by the garden’s founders, Martina and Denis Goggin.

IKA Chair, Liz O’Sullivan paid tribute to the many families who have given the gift of life through organ donation. She also acknowledged the recent passing a month before of Mark Murphy, former CEO of the IKA, who was instrumental in promoting organ donation for two decades before retiring in 2020. Among those in attendance were his predecessor, Patricia Doherty, the IKA’s first Chief Executive and one of its founding members, and the Association’s current CEO, Carol Moore.

Celebrants for the ecumenical, interfaith and non-denominational ceremony included: His Grace Archbishop Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Dublin; His Grace Archbishop Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough; Father Robert Smyth, Parish Priest, Church of the Holy Child; Shaykh Dr. Umar Al-Qadri, Chief Imam, Islamic Centre of Ireland; Reverend Damian Murray, Deacon; Michelle Read, Humanist Celebrant, Humanist Association of Ireland; Pastor Ben Pontanar, Seventh Day Adventist Church; and Training Minister Gavin Byrne, Dublin Unitarian Church.

The Service was recorded by Kairos Communications for broadcast on RTÉ One, Radio 1 Extra and RTÉ Player on Sunday, November 2 at 11am.               

For more information visit www.ika.ie