‘Emotional’. ‘Moving’. ‘Special’. The words echoed and re-echoed by those who attended Saturday’s tenth anniversary celebration of the Circle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative Garden in Salthill, as they described the occasion.

Some 400 people from Ireland and further afield attended the event held in glorious sunshine, with most of those present having a direct link with organ donation.

One woman, who had travelled by train from Limerick with her granddaughter, was there in memory of her 18-year-old son who died 18 years ago following an assault.

“We donated his organs and saved five people’s lives,” she said simply.

There were stories too from people who had received such life-saving organs, donated by families in the depths of tragic bereavement.

Juliana Antonio Byrne spoke from the stage on behalf of her brother, Ernesto who received a donor heart 24 years ago, and captured the gratitude of recipients. Ernesto was in Spain on Saturday, where he’s walking 1,000km in memory of his donor. So Juliana read his words.

He explained how, in 1999, as a fit and healthy 36-year-old, he suffered heart failure which resulted in multiple organ failure. His only hope of survival was a heart transplant, which happened after several months.

Twenty-four years on, Ernesto has undertaken marathons, Ironman triathlons and taken part in transplant games in the UK and Europe.

The Circle of Life Garden was founded by Martina and Denis Goggin, whose only child, Éamonn, died in July 2006 as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash.

Their decision to donate his organs helped them through dark days and led to the creation of this special space ten years ago through the charity they established, the Strange Boat Donor Foundation.

The Circle of Life Garden’s anniversary celebration was held on the final day of Organ Donation Awareness Week, organised by the Irish Kidney Association (IKA).

Caption: Denis and Martina Goggin with singer Eleanor Shanley and Anthony Thistlethwaite, formerly of the Waterboys, who co-wrote the song “Strange Boat” with Mike Scott, which Eleanor sang at the tenth anniversary celebration of the National Organ Donor Commemorative Garden in Quincentennial Park, Salthill, last Saturday. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.

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