There was a little bit of magic in the air for the launch of hospice founder, Mary Redmond’s book, ‘Marlena, The Fairy Princess – Making Friends’ at All Saints’ Church, Mullingar last Wednesday, 18 November. The spectacular setting was made all the more special by Mullingar Town Band who played a number of lively performances as the hundreds of locals filed into the church.
By Claire Corrigan
During a speech at the event, Seamus Given, who was a former colleague of the late Ms. Redmond at the Arthur Cox Employment Law Group, spoke of her amazingly accomplished career as well as her wonderful spirit. “She moved from UCD to study at both Oxford and Cambridge universities where she was awarded a doctorate. In the corporate world, she was a deputy governor of the Bank of Ireland, a member of the board of Smurfit, a member of the RTÉ Authority, a director of Campbell Bewley’s and a board member of the Royal Liver Insurance. In 1999, Dr Redmond established the Wheel, a support and representative body connecting community and voluntary organisations and charities across Ireland. Aside from all those achievements she was warm, engaging, generous and thoughtful and it’s an honour for me to be able to say a few words about her tonight” said Mr. Given, who sponsored the event.
Also in attendance at the launch was Ms. Redmond’s sisters, Janis and Geraldine, her son, Patrick, her step-daughter, Kitty and her brother, Liam.
Chairperson of the North Westmeath Hospice Fundraising Committee, Veronica Larkin, who organised the event alongside her colleagues, said a special thank you to Rev. Alastair Graham for the use of the church and also to Miriam O’Callaghan for attending. “Mary has been a guiding light for hospices in what she has done for the Hospice since she founded it in 1984. We have a wonderful hospice homecare team here in Mullingar, who in 2014, have looked after 248 individuals who needed end of life care.”
During her launch speech, Ms. O’Callaghan spoke fondly of Ms. Redmond, who was one of her lecturers while she was a young student at UCD. “I was lucky enough to be one of those students in that law course in UCD when Mary lectured me. She wasn’t just remarkably clever but remarkably kind and if any of us had a problem we would always talk to her after class and you never felt that you were taking up her time. She was a truly remarkable person and I know that first-hand. It’s a really beautiful book.”
Ms. O’Callaghan also shared her story of how hospice care helped her own sister during her final years. “Palliative care comes into everybody’s life and sometimes it comes in earlier than we want or expect it. I had a sister who died of cancer at 32 years old and she left two children behind her, which brought great sadness into my and my family’s lives. Hospice looked after my sister Anne so well and for me personally the hospice and palliative care at end of life really matters. I’m here for two reasons today – one because Mary Redmond was a truly remarkable woman and two because of the hospice movement and all the work that the whole team does here. It matters so much and I know that from a societal point of view and a personal point of view.”
Geraldine Montgomery, sister, thanked the committee and the book’s illustrator, Dolores Keaveney for all the work that went into the book and the launch. “I’d like express a heartfelt thanks to Dolores Keaveney and everybody in the North Westmeath Hospice for all the wonderful work on behalf of all of Mary’s family. For anybody who knows my sister for her beauty, her brilliance, her amazing legal career or her charitable works, it might come as something of a surprise to learn about her wicked sense of fun and her playful love of devilment. Once you start reading Princess Marlena, that side of her is revealed. The book is funny, charming, compassionate, engaging and warm – all qualities that Mary herself possessed in abundance.”
Her son, Patrick told Topic, “It’s still hard to believe that she is gone but she never let the illness define her and she kept on doing the things she loved. She always had that playful side that no one else knew about but that I did, being her son.”
All donations from the book (€10 each) will go to the North Westmeath Hospice.
