Irish Thalidomide Association ‘devastated' by death of Jacqui Browne
thalidomide
survivor, has died at the age of 63.
Ms Browne, who was from Co Kerry, died peacefully at her home on Monday 'surrounded by her loving family' and a palliative care team.
Ms Browne, who was born in November 1961, is predeceased by her parents Donal and Jean, and her brother-in-law Jean Paul Baro. She is survived by her siblings, nieces and nephews, and wider family.
In her
death notice
, her family said they are 'heartbroken' by her passing.
READ MORE
Ms Browne will be reposing at the Gleasure Funeral Home in Tralee on Thursday from 6pm to 8pm. Her funeral Mass will take place at midday on Friday at St John's Church in Tralee.
A spokeswoman for the Irish Thalidomide Association (ITA) said its members are 'devastated' by her death and 'grieving the loss of a great friend'.
[
'Physically there is so much I can't do': Thalidomide survivor Jacqui Browne believes the State is simply waiting for her to die
]
Thalidomide was introduced in the mid-1950s to counter morning sickness but was withdrawn from most markets in 1961 after widespread evidence of it leading to birth defects. However, it was retained on the shelves in Ireland until 1964.
The medication led to deformities and the deaths of thousands of babies across the world. Many children of women who took the drug in pregnancy were born without limbs, or shortened limbs, with hearing and vision impairments and injuries to internal organs.
Members of the ITA have been campaigning for decades for a State apology for the immense toll thalidomide has had on their lives.
Ms Browne, who worked as a disability equality consultant for more than 35 years, underwent several operations throughout her life due to the condition.
In an
interview with The Irish Times last year
, she said that receiving a State apology would give her 'closure' and 'take this big cloud off from over my head'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, July 15th: On the high cost of endometriosis, supporting Gaza, and talking rubbish
Sir, – After reading ' Living with endometriosis, a disease so horrible and painful, it has upended my life ', (July 12th) I felt compelled to write to you with my own frustration and growing anger at the disgraceful treatment of women living with endometriosis in Ireland. It is widely acknowledged that it takes up to 10 years to be diagnosed with this condition, all while women suffer debilitating symptoms, are misdiagnosed, or dismissed entirely. In that time, many endure significant absenteeism from work, or suffer in silence at their desks, all while minimising symptoms society has taught them to endure. Yet, the injustice does not end with diagnosis. Health insurers routinely classify endometriosis as a pre-existing condition, even when no medical professional has ever confirmed it. READ MORE It is absurd and cruel that a condition women may not even know they have, often because of these very diagnostic delays, is then weaponised against them to block access to the surgeries they so often need by the time they are diagnosed. This policy feels like an exploitation of the disease's very nature. Endometriosis is linked to menstruation, so insurers can argue that any historical period pain or symptoms were evidence of a pre-existing condition, even if there is no mention of this in a patient's medical history. This approach punishes women twice: first by a healthcare system that fails to diagnose them promptly, and then by insurers who exploit the very nature of the disease to retrospectively deny coverage. Ireland deserves better. Women deserve better. – Yours, etc, LIZZIE WHITCHER, Rush, Co Dublin. Sir, – I write in support of Lisa Tierney-Keogh's powerful and moving story. Her account of suffering, made worse by invalidating and disbelieving medical professionals, resonates with so many of us living with unseen or complex health conditions. Medicine – medical culture – needs to change. We need a healthcare system based on listening, where patients are not punished for having conditions that are complicated or hard to treat. Where women's pain is never met with a label like 'hypochondriac'. Though I am inspired and awed by the author's perseverance and determination, finding appropriate care shouldn't be contingent on her having an incredible degree of inner strength and self-belief. And to the author herself: thank you for sharing your story. On behalf of those of us in Ireland suffering with unseen or complex health conditions: we believe you. – Yours, etc., SAMUEL ROGERS, Rathmines, Dublin 6. Sir, – Your article highlighting the case of Sarah Jane Allen, who was left €15,000 out of pocket after seeking care for endometriosis abroad due to gaps in Irish services, fell short of vital information. (' Woman saving for home left with €15,000 medical bills due to endometriosis care gaps ,' July 14th). Her experience reflects a widespread failure in the health system – but it also highlights an important point that deserves clarification. Under EU law, patients in Ireland are eligible for reimbursement for medically necessary treatment received in another EU country through the cross-border healthcare directive, and in some cases, through the treatment abroad scheme, if the treatment isn't offered here by the HSE. While these schemes normally require certain pre-approvals – such as a GP referral or consultant recommendation, the Irish implementation of the directive does not categorically exclude retrospective reimbursement. In fact, patients who were unaware of these schemes at the time they sought treatment may still be entitled to reimbursement, provided that the treatment is publicly available in Ireland (even with waiting lists), it was medically necessary, and a GP or consultant can now confirm that they would have issued a referral had they been asked in advance. The European Court of Justice has ruled that lack of awareness of administrative procedures should not unjustly deprive patients of their rights under EU law – especially where care was urgent or otherwise inaccessible in the patient's home country. Women with endometriosis, who are already navigating a complex and underfunded health system, should not also be punished for failing to navigate little-known legal pathways. Ms Allen, and many others like her, have a legal route to full reimbursement and the HSE has a duty to facilitate that, not obstruct it. – Yours, etc, DECLAN DOYLE. Lisdowney, Co Kilkenny. EU and its next move on Gaza Sir, – In late June, the EU concluded that Israel was 'in breach' of the human rights obligations of the EU-Israel Trade Agreement. The EU's decision at the time was to defer action against Israel for one month with the hope that it would restore humanitarian aid to Gaza. In the past few days the EU has announced a largely aspirational agreement with Israel to improve aid, without any means of monitoring or enforcing the agreement. Initial reports indicate that aid groups have yet to see tangible effects from the agreement. In fact, since this agreement, killings at aid stations have continued, with the deaths of 10 people including six children at a water station described as a technical error. A UN source reported on Saturday that at least 798 people have been killed in six weeks near Gaza aid points. At the same time, Israel is planning to move the entire Gaza population to a so-called humanitarian camp in Southern Gaza. It is in this context that EU foreign ministers will meet today (July 15th). Vice-president of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, is expected to unveil a dozen potential measures that the EU could take to put further pressure on Israel. If, at this meeting, the EU fail to agree on any significant impactful measures to put pressure on Israel, they will be making a conscious decision to allow Netanyahu to continue his plan for the cleansing of Gaza and are complicit by their inaction. Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union states that 'the European Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities'. Even at this late stage, the EU must act in accordance with its own stated values. – Yours, etc, DES SMITH, Dundrum, Dublin. Sir, – There is a generation that carries memories of Live Aid – the goodwill and the hope – and then, 10 years later, the despair and impotence of being an individual in the face of the genocide perpetrated in Srebrenica. Perhaps we thought then that no one would let another such atrocity happen on their watch. But here we are – and the horrible thought strikes me that, were Live Aid to happen now, the aid wouldn't get through. As UNRWA is banished from Gaza, other aid workers targeted, and the desperately hungry are corralled into lines of easy targets for American contractors and the Israel Defense Forces, we protest, donate, and pray (if we pray), and the people we gave power to prevaricate, discuss, and demur. Yes, we have been joined by a fine new generation, but it's still also our watch. –Yours, etc, KAREN J McDONNELL, Ballyvaughan. Co Clare. Sir, – Your columnist Paul Gillespie writes: 'Irish people support Palestinians because they recognise the settler colonial process at play' (July 12th). Later, he states: 'However most Irish people support Palestinians because they recognise a similar process to be at play there as here, notwithstanding the nuances.' Can such a statement be quantified with real data. How many people are 'most' Irish people ? I have never been asked to answer a poll on the question of whom I support in the tragic conflict that inflicts ongoing pain and destruction on both the Palestinian and Israeli people. I have nothing but compassion, sympathy and human love for the Palestinian and Israeli people who suffer on a daily basis as a result of this conflict. However, I wish to state that as an Irish person, who has worked in the Middle East, the situation in that region is very complex and, as your writer states, contains many 'nuances'. I am an Irish person. I support a peaceful solution to the conflict, but I do take exception to my nationality being represented by your writer as supportive of one side over another purely because of that nationality. – Yours, etc, JOHN FIELD, Sallynoggin, Co Dublin. Talking rubbish Sir, – Why on earth as a nation can we not clean up when leaving the beach? During this beautiful weather, when the beaches are very busy, why can every individual not tidy up and bring home their refuse? Stop complaining about lack of bins or bins being too full – simply bring the rubbish home! – Yours, etc, LAURA O'MARA, Stillorgan, Co Dublin. Out of touch, or out of date? Sir, – Finn McRedmond contrasts Oasis's music with Spanish artist Pablo Picasso's masterpiece Guernica ( 'Oasis: You can't write. You don't care. No wonder you've gone a long way,' July 10th ). She ascribes the lasting appeal of Oasis to being 'functionally apolitical'. In contrast, she considers Guernica somehow dated. She writes 'Picasso's Guernica is still pretty good, but I prefer paintings without such explicit arguments'. If I follow the logic, I think she means that if you dare to draw conclusions from the world around you, you run the risk of becoming irrelevant. If you have the courage to call out what you see to be wrong then time might pass you by. Better to concern yourself with 'Cigarettes and alcohol' than systematic, cold blooded slaughter. In Guernica, Picasso shows the horror and violence of a military power reigning terror and destruction on a defenceless civilian population with no chance of escape. It is explicit. It is terrifying. At least it's not relevant. – Yours, etc, RORY KENNELLY, Blackrock, Co Dublin. No more lawnmower Sir, – It was very good to read of Richard Gelletlie's concern for the fate of the bees that were getting killed by his lawnmower while feeding on the clover in his lawn (Letters, July 14th). One option he did not mention, which requires no new invention, is not just to 'slow down to a crawl,' but to simply stop! It comes down to priorities – which matters more, a neatly mown lawn or a rich foraging ground, not just for bees, but many other beautiful insects and other invertebrates as well? While we humans seem to place great value on neatness in our gardens and so called green spaces, for many of our fellow creatures it results in impoverished, low value habitat and forces them to go elsewhere – that's if there is any 'elsewhere' left! – Yours, etc, KATHERINE QUIRKE, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Talk to Joe, somebody Sir, – Joe Duffy's reprise of his radio show in the form of advertising reminds me of Karl Marx's reflection of history: first time as tragedy, second time as farce. Joe really needs to talk to someone. – Yours, etc, EOGHAN MAC CORMAIC, Kilchreest, Galway Soviet-style apartments Sir, – Orla Hegarty asks if Dublin is ready for ' drab Soviet style apartment blocks? ' (July 13th). Dublin already experimented with this model of building in Ballymun. Those apartment blocks were demolished in recent years for all the reasons associated with building without proper infrastructure. I see nothing in the current plans that would make things any different on this occasion. Storage and utility space, decent-sized balconies and common recreational areas are essential to the mental and physical health of residents. Packing people into small unit spaces, while ostensibly solving one problem, will only cause others in their place. – Yours, etc, SHEILA O'FLANAGAN, Clontarf, Dublin. Sir, – For years Frank McDonald, The Irish Times environment correspondent, campaigned for more and more apartment blocks because they were the ideal, environmentally friendly, suitable accommodation for the Irish population. From his recent article it appears that he has changed his mind and moved to the suburbs. ('Why I moved out of Temple Bar after 25 years: I feared our home would become uninhabitable,' July 12th). Tough for those who don't have that option. – Yours, etc, RICHARD ALLEN, Cummeen, Co Sligo. Rejection is hard, but rejection by.. . Sir, – Apropos of recent discourse, I am quite flabbergasted that letter writers to The Irish Times would migrate to the Irish Independent, for whatever reason. Surely this is tantamount to going to the mosque to say my prayers when the church is closed? – Yours, etc, FRANK J BYRNE, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Sir, – I too have suffered multiple rejections from the Letters Editor in recent times. C'est la guerre. There is one good reason though for not trying my luck with the Irish Independent as suggested (Brian Ahern, July 14th). I don't read the Irish Independent. – Yours, etc, RONAN McDERMOTT, Rathgar, Dublin 6. Sir, – Obviously from recent correspondence there are many would-be contributors to your page who are disappointed that their letters are not published. I also have the same experience. I wonder if you, sir, are like my neighbour who has his letterbox leading directly to his open recycle bin. Perhaps a solution is to have an occasional two-page spread for letters to the editor, or have a special section for those long letters with multiple signatures? Yours, etc, TONY CORCORAN, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. Sir, – Like Ben McCabe and Brian Ahern, I too have flirted with other letter pages with my musings, but invariably I always return to my first love. Even when I'm rejected, for some of my less favourable comments, I know that when I have something good to say I will be listened to. I am always welcomed back into the fold, or is that the folded one, no matter what I have done. – Yours, etc, John Bergin, Wirral, England.
Irish Times
13 hours ago
- Irish Times
Excavation begins of site of Tuam mother and baby institution
A full forensic excavation on the site of the former mother and baby institution in Tuam, Co Galway, began on Monday morning. This process will focus on recovering and analysing human remains from the site and will also involve a memorialisation of the deceased. Ground was broken on the project just after 10.30am, and the excavation expected to take around two years to complete. 'Access to the entire site is now closed off to the public and it is also concealed from view,' the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam confirmed. Twenty-four-hour security protection will be on guard around the site, with a 2.4 metre fence also in place. READ MORE 'These measures are necessary to ensure the site's forensic integrity and to enable us to carry out the works to the highest international standards,' Daniel MacSweeney, who leads the office, said. [ Tuam mother and baby home: 80 people come forward to give DNA to identify buried children Opens in new window ] Survivors of the Mother and Baby Home and their families were invited to view the site last Tuesday before access was closed off to allow pre-excavation works to begin. The excavation begins 11 years after historian Catherine Corless revealed that 796 children died in the institution between 1925 and 1961. Only two of these children were buried in local graveyards, and a lack of burial records from the institution ran by the Bon Secours sisters indicate that many others may be buried on site. [ Tuam families can see 'light at the end of a very long tunnel' Opens in new window ] Test excavation carried out in 2016 and 2017 found a notable amount of human remains in what seemed to be a disused septic tank at the rear of the site. The work at the burial site will involve exhumation, analysis, identification if possible and re-interment of the remains at the site. In 2021, Taoiseach Micheál Martin apologised on behalf of the State for the treatment of women and children who were housed in mother and baby homes across Ireland. The Bon Secours Sisters also offered a 'profound apology' after acknowledging the order had 'failed to protect the inherent dignity' of women and children in the Tuam home.
Irish Times
17 hours ago
- Irish Times
Woman who suffered sustained bleeding after giving birth fails in High Court action
A woman suffering from bleeding and who collapsed at home 2½weeks after giving birth has failed in a High Court claim for damages against the Coombe hospital , Dublin, and the HSE . Virginia Gimenez Perez alleged, among other matters, that the hospital failed to properly diagnose and treat the cause of her bleeding after she gave birth to her second child in October 2019. She also alleged that the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise, failed to make a timely diagnosis of what was causing her bleeding when she was brought there by ambulance in November having collapsed at home. She eventually received surgery to stop the bleeding in December. Ms Justice Emily Egan found in favour of the HSE and the hospital in a recently-published decision. READ MORE She found that the staff involved in the care of Ms Perez in both hospitals acted in ways that ordinary competent professionals might have acted and took decisions that were open to such professionals exercising reasonable care. Ms Perez complained that the Coombe failed to properly diagnose and treat her post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) caused by the incomplete delivery of the placenta, preventing her uterus from contracting and stemming bleeding from the uterine wall. The condition is known as retained products of conception (RPOC) and it was common cause that the PPH suffered by Ms Perez was due to RPOC. In the Coombe at the time of the birth, the placenta was checked by a nurse who noted that it 'appears complete'. 'It is common case that it is very difficult to out-rule the possibility that a small piece of placenta is missing,' the judge noted. 'It is not per se negligent to conclude that a placenta 'appears complete' even if this transpires not to be the case.' Ms Perez also criticised other aspects of her care while at the Coombe, including the hospital's response to her blood loss. However, the judge found the treatment given was 'effective and reasonable' given the scenario presenting. The care given after Ms Perez attended hospital in Portlaoise was also criticised by her and her expert witnesses, with consultant obstetrician Dr Robin Ashe saying the hospital should have performed surgery on her to remove the RPOC when she was brought there by ambulance on November 4th, 2019. However, Ms Justice Egan found that the more conservative management decided upon by the staff was 'within the band of reasonable management'. Consultant Dr Niamh Maher, who decided on the more conservative approach after having made a differential diagnosis, was 'emphatic' that surgery involved a risk of uterine perforation that could have been 'catastrophic' in circumstances where the patient had given birth only two weeks earlier. Surgery was eventually carried out on Ms Perez when she presented at the hospital on December 4th, 2019. By this time the risk of uterine perforation was reduced. The material removed, only part of which was RPOC, had moved from the uterus to the cervix with the aid of prescribed medicines and Ms Perez was 'somewhat unlucky' the procedure was required, the court was told. Ms Perez said she was weak, fatigued and introverted for some time after the surgery, did not return to normal for nearly two years, and was prescribed antidepressants. However, the judge found her 'adjustment disorder' was caused by the stress of having to undergo surgery under general anaesthetic, something that was 'virtually unavoidable'. 'Fortunately [Ms Perez] states that she is now doing really well; she has a good life and feels very happy,' the judge said, as she dismissed the case.
