Dr. Tom McGinley fondly remembered as family and Foyle Hospice community celebrate palliative care pioneer
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00:00Following his stroke on the 26th of December 2020, which ironically was the day of his 86th birthday,
00:09in particular, I would like to thank Dr Paul MacGyver.
00:15I phoned Paul on the 28th and I said, Paul, is there any chance that Dad could come to the hospice?
00:24And without any doubt, he said, of course, Kieran, I'll make it happen for you.
00:31Covid at that time was spectacular, but Paul made that happen.
00:38We are very grateful to Paul for allowing Dad to go to the hospice to spend his final day,
00:45surrounded by the people he loved so much and the surroundings that he loved so much.
00:52As Keith mentioned in his presentation, Dad had a great passion for caring for people.
00:59And even after he retired as a GP, he continued with that steely determination,
01:06making sure that end of life care would be better for those who needed it.
01:12And believe it or not, unknown to most, he did this as a volunteer.
01:17About a year before her death, Deidre wrote a letter to Tom, while fully aware of what lay ahead.
01:29Her daughter Aisling would read this letter.
01:34Tom, his grandson, would follow reading the letter, written by his grandfather,
01:39during April 2003, just a few weeks before they began.
01:46During the reading of these letters, Molly, Tom's granddaughter, would accompany us on the pyre.
02:16My personal tribute to a wonderful husband.
02:30There is nothing in this world that I could buy, or nothing that I could do for Tom,
02:37to repay the care, encouragement, and undying love that he has given me.
02:45Especially, over the last eight years, in my little club with the council.
02:52He has been alongside me every step of the way,
02:56while still attending to so many other suffering, sick, and diseased people.
03:02To say that he has gone on an extra mile for me is an understatement.
03:08I would not be writing this today, except for those qualities which God instilled in him,
03:15and which he has put to such wonderful use, often in the face of adversity.
03:22So many people thought he was crazy, when he first joined the fundraising for Hustleton North West.
03:30When he has proved, he is still crazy after all.
03:35Thank you Tom, for how I believe what a fortunate woman I am,
03:40to have such a remarkable and compassionate husband.
03:46God will be sharing all my sights too.
04:06He was also a man of great compassion.
04:11He often referred to himself as a blow-in from Donegal,
04:16but he loved this city, and he loved the people of this city.
04:22And over time, the people of this city grew to love and adore him.
04:30It's great to see so many of the staff here this evening that worked with Dad over the years,
04:37and I have no doubt that you will have your great memories of him.
04:43And you will not only have seen him as a great leader, and a great mentor,
04:49but you will also have seen him as your friend.
04:53I was very fortunate to work alongside him for many years,
04:58and I also had him as my mentor, and he inspired me every single day that I worked there.
05:06He supported and guided me in my journey in fundraising until I left in 2019.
05:12His legacy lives on, and will never be forgotten.
05:38Dear Drew, in the middle of this storm, I thank you for knowing me too well
05:43and for expressing my innermost feelings and thoughtful duties to me today.
05:48Thank you for sharing your love with me.
05:51Thank you for experiencing me the highs and lows of our life journey.
05:56Thank you for your unselfish support during my contracted illness early in my life together.
06:06The various challenges in my life that followed my recovery, studying, my fellowship, the marathons,
06:13and other forms of life in an employed hospice, required time, and space,
06:18and we were extremely generous in allowing me to go to them.
06:23The courage and inner strength that you showed us is your direct concert husband of ours.
06:30You are a shining example of what goes with similar inspiration.
06:35You've also been an inspiration to me and my wife's family.
06:41One day at a time has been your motto and your guiding principle.
06:46Yesterday is history, tomorrow is history, and today is a gift from God.
06:56The night out at the constituency feels particularly important for me
07:00as it gave me the opportunity to express some of the depth and friendship that I hold dear.
07:07You've always been loving, caring, understanding, forgiving, and supportive.
07:16I hope that you will always know just how much I love you and how much I really care.
07:25This is to grow up and love for years.
07:29Tom.
07:37Tonight, I want to pay a very special tribute.
07:43A word of congratulations and thanks to my good friend, Dr. Keating.
07:55He took me to a pub one day last year and he said,
07:58I'm going to write a book about your dad.
08:00Some people think I'm mad, and to be quite honest, I thought you were mad too.
08:06Some people think I'm mad, but he said, I'm really determined to make it happen.
08:11The story needs to be told.
08:14Well, Keating, you've done it, and you've proved your dad was wrong.
08:19So congratulations to you.
08:28We are very thankful to you on behalf of everyone
08:32for the love and commitment that you gave to this project
08:36and for giving us so many written memories that we can now cherish forever.
08:42Finally, yes, finally,
08:45I would like to thank all of you for coming along this evening
08:48to lend your support to Keating
08:50and for making this book launch such a huge success.
08:54I have no doubt you all have your own fond memories of my father.
09:00I heard a story the other day of somebody who went into surgery
09:05when he was a GP looking for an antibiotic for a sore throat.
09:09They came out with a cock-a-doodle-do.
09:12I'm not saying that for the weekly drug.
09:17As I said, you will all have your own memories.
09:20As I said, you will all have your own memories.
09:24But for myself, Ashling O'Shea, he was our dad.
09:31And we love and miss him and our mum so very much.
09:35Go raibh maith agaibh.