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CARRY THE CARD: Members of the Kerry Branch of the Irish Kidney Association from left: Tim Fleming, Connie Brosnan (Chairman), Theresa Looney (Secretary) and Seanie O'Donoghue. Picture: Eamonn Keogh

“Have the conversation and carry a donor card”

By Sean Moriarty

Talking to family about being an organ donor is the most important step in ensuring your wish can happen – says local man and kidney transplant recipient Connie Brosnan -  whose life was changed after receiving a kidney eight years ago.

Now he’s calling on the public to carry an organ donor card – as it could be life-changing for someone waiting for a transplant.

Last Sunday, the annual Ring of Kerry Honda 50 Run, an integral event in the annual Ireland BikeFest Killarney festival, raised funds for the Irish Kidney Association Kerry branch.

Connie, who is on the organising committee of the Honda 50 Run amongst many other things, is a keen gardener, a regular golfer, a prominent member of the local basketball club and a committee member of local charity group.

These are all pastimes you would instantly associate with an active retired person.

But for Connie of Ross Road, these are all things that could have been taken from him at a blink of eye.

Eight years ago he got a phone call to say he was next in line for a life-saving kidney transplant.

Fast forward to 2019, and Connie says all of the above activities would not have been possible only that someone, somewhere carried an organ donor card - and he is now calling on the entire community to carry a card to potentially save someone else’s life.

“I would encourage people to have the conversation and in the event of an untimely death of a loved one, that they carry a donor card,” said Connie.

Connie (70) is one of those local people that seems to be involved in everything.

He is a long-time member of Killarney Golf and Fishing Club. He even won gold for the discipline at the Irish Transplant Games in 2013 - just 24 months after his life-saving operation.

He is a long-serving member of St Paul’s Basketball Club and acts as the club’s ambassador when officials from visiting clubs are in town. He spent his life in Killarney National Park as he was born in a cottage in the heart of the park, and spent his working life as a gardener and caretake there, first as an employee of the McShane family and latterly under the Board of Public Works. He still volunteers as a gardener at the golf club.

“I am one of the very lucky ones,” he said. “A transplant is a not cure, but is the best form of treatment. There are 50 patients in Tralee undergoing dialysis each week, and this is only keeping them ticking over, imagine all your blood being filtered through a machine, sometimes taking up to four hours.”

Those interested in getting an organ donor card can contact Theresa Looney, Secretary of the Kerry Branch of the Irish Kidney Association, on 087 205 9205.