So many people have helped me in so many ways since I became suddenly ill in early June that I wanted to express my thanks and appreciation. I know that it is never advised to start naming names because of the risk of omitting somebody but I have to single out a few to whom I owe my life. My farming neighbour and friend John O’Donoghue from Feakle found me unconscious in my house on the morning of 10th June and on the wise advice of his friend Patricia Donlon he made tracks to collect another good friend and neighbour Nurse Rita O’Grady. The O’Grady family of Annagh dropped everything to rush to my house, called for an ambulance and arranged for Dr Conor Magee to attend with essential medication. Peadar Greene and his Scariff-based ambulance colleagues arrived in record time and rushed me, still unconscious, to UHL where I eventually regained consciousness.
After much investigation and testing in UHL and in CUH I was eventually allowed home to find that a meitheal of neighbouring farmers from Bodyke and Feakle had given up their own work to gather my winter silage into the appropriate place while my two sisters and their families had tended to the cattle and the few horses. My nephew and niece had in the meantime ensured that I had got to all my hospital appointments in Limerick and in Cork safely and in good time. I am hugely appreciative of all that was done for me by so many great and generous people.
Since being allowed home to await further medical treatment I have experienced continued kindness from so many people and this too has helped me enormously. Brief visits and messages from old school friends, from local friends, from my many cousins and from colleagues from East Clare Golf Club have been a welcome distraction on long empty days while I am supposed to avoid contact with livestock.
A good friend from this parish wrote on her Get Well Mass Bouquet that many of us turn to God when our backs are to the wall. I will always be grateful to my fellow parishioners and to those everywhere who have turned to God on my behalf and I believe that their prayers will be answered. I am grateful too to Kieran Blake PP and to my other priest friends who have called to bless me or telephoned with good wishes. Their involvement was special to me too as was the presence of the UHL chaplain Fr Sean Harmon when I was at a fairly low ebb. My late father used to say to anyone that had helped him in any way “ May God spare you the health!” That is now my wish and prayer for anyone who has helped me along the way. No matter how insignificant your contact or help may have appeared to be it was very important as far as I was concerned.

Go raibh maith ag gach éinne.