Joe Brolly

Started by randomtask, July 31, 2011, 05:28:31 PM

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supersarsfields

Great to hear that there may be a couple of other donors coming forward.  The GAA can really be a remarkable organisation at times. 

QuoteFresh hope in search for kidney donor says Brolly

ALL-Ireland winner Joe Brolly has revealed that three more live donors - including two GAA figures - are lining up to help Shane Finnegan, who needs a kidney transplant.

The former Derry GAA All-Star, now a pundit, donated one of his kidneys to his friend and clubmate Mr Finnegan at the start of last month.

But less than two weeks later, doctors confirmed that the transplant had failed due to a rare blood clot.

Mr Brolly has now revealed that two figures in the GAA are undergoing tests in a Belfast hospital to help save the life of Mr Finnegan.

Another person has also come forward to help the stricken father-of-three find a suitable match.

Mr Finnegan, a PR executive who coaches under-10s GAA with Mr Brolly, is now back on dialysis and desperately needs a kidney.

Mr Brolly said he was very concerned for his friend's future health, adding that he was now helping in the search for a new living donor.

"What's next is that he needs a volunteer. He needs a donor," Mr Brolly told RTE radio.

"Without betraying any confidence, two people have already gone in to be tested in Belfast. Another person is coming to see me next week.

"Two of them are from very, very strong GAA backgrounds and obviously the GAA community has been superb.

"He needs a donor - a living donor. A deceased donor is no good for him. I was just in that miserable one per cent with Shane."

Mr Brolly, a father-of-five who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship with Derry in 1993, had made the decision to donate a kidney to Mr Finnegan after having known him only for a short time.

Before the transplant, Mr Finnegan (40) was having dialysis three nights a week for the past six years after suffering kidney failure. He had not told his children of his health problems.

It was the third transplant the father-of-three had undergone, with one having failed after 12 years.

Mr Brolly said he found out that the transplant had failed in a phone call from his friend's "distraught" wife, Catherine Finnegan.

"It was such a miserable finale to something that has been so exultant. I mean obviously it's a miserable situation for me but for Shane's family and for Shane, this was it," he said.

"Everything had been so good and the experts were agreed that this was the best possible situation for them in advance.

"Everything had gone so well for the physical transplant and then for such a small thing to destroy it all was very agonising.
   



Archie Mitchell

Interview with Joe Brolly on The Nolan Show tonight

theticklemister

Joe please dont crack a joke over the Union fleg!!!!!

Wildweasel74

He was smiling all the way, probably laughing at all the uneducated fools in the crowd, east belfast be the new location for shameless. Had the crowd knew his father was in Sinn Fein, would he have got the same response

Club Rossa

Was waiting for him to comment on the flags issue,he would have torn some of those boys to shreds.

tbrick18

I'd love to have seen him blow a few kisses to the crowd!  ;D

A living legend is our Joe.

EC Unique

Fair play to him. Gutted for them both that it rejected. He is an example to all in humanity.

ziggysego

Inspiring story and really shows how important it is to put yourself on the Donor List today. Selfish not to.

The perfect antidote to all the rabble that went on before.
Testing Accessibility

Fuzzman


Main Street

Quote from: tbrick18 on January 17, 2013, 09:23:16 AM
I'd love to have seen him blow a few kisses to the crowd!  ;D

A living legend is our Joe.
He did give them a big (film star) wave at the end.
When the camera scanned the audience during the few applauses, more than few could be seen with hands clasped tight and facial expressions of pure hatred.

From the Bunker

Quote from: Main Street on January 19, 2013, 09:26:57 AM
Quote from: tbrick18 on January 17, 2013, 09:23:16 AM
I'd love to have seen him blow a few kisses to the crowd!  ;D

A living legend is our Joe.
He did give them a big (film star) wave at the end.
When the camera scanned the audience during the few applauses, more than few could be seen with hands clasped tight and facial expressions of pure hatred.

Really, hands clasped tight and facial expressions of pure hatred, on a programme filmed in Ulster. Find that hard to believe. He is always singing the praises of Ulster football. If it were filmed in Kerry or Mayo then I would not be surprised.

Fr. Cyril McDuff

Quote from: From the Bunker on January 19, 2013, 11:00:56 AM
Quote from: Main Street on January 19, 2013, 09:26:57 AM
Quote from: tbrick18 on January 17, 2013, 09:23:16 AM
I'd love to have seen him blow a few kisses to the crowd!  ;D

A living legend is our Joe.
He did give them a big (film star) wave at the end.
When the camera scanned the audience during the few applauses, more than few could be seen with hands clasped tight and facial expressions of pure hatred.

Really, hands clasped tight and facial expressions of pure hatred, on a programme filmed in Ulster. Find that hard to believe. He is always singing the praises of Ulster football. If it were filmed in Kerry or Mayo then I would not be surprised.

Don't think you appreciate the make up of the audience that evening. Was full of Tyrone wans.

Main Street

Nah, if it was a Tyrone infected audience, they would have been asking Joe to give Shane his other kidney.

Joe handled the interview (after walking into such a toxic atmosphere) with consummate ease and that segment was inspirational.  Though I thought he looked a bit thin and somewhat haggard, I hope he doesn't have any comebacks on his own health after all the kidney donor experience.

Fr. Cyril McDuff

Quote from: Main Street on January 19, 2013, 11:56:40 AM
Nah, if it was a Tyrone infected audience, they would have been asking Joe to give Shane his other kidney.

Joe handled the interview (after walking into such a toxic atmosphere) with consummate ease and that segment was inspirational.  Though I thought he looked a bit thin and somewhat haggard, I hope he doesn't have any comebacks on his own health after all the kidney donor experience.

Thought that too, though would imagine the process would lead to some weight loss.
Should have had Joe on for the first part too, would loved to have seen him tear into the braying mob. No better man for ripping the piss out of a shower like that. Bloody Tyronies  >:( ;)

All of a Sludden

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/organ-donation-opt-out-plan-for-northern-ireland-583696.html

Proposals to introduce a presumed consent system of organ donation in Northern Ireland have been announced.

Stormont's political leaders have launched a public consultation exercise on the potential change.

The opt-out system would mean people would be presumed to have given consent for their organs to be donated upon their death, unless they have otherwise stated.

First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness were joined by Stormont Health Minister Edwin Poots at the City Hospital in Belfast as they announced the consultation exercise.

If the feedback is positive, they said they would move to introduce legislation to deliver the new system.

Also at the announcement was former Gaelic football star Joe Brolly, who has become a high-profile campaigner for organ donation since he donated a kidney to a friend last year.

The Welsh Government is currently pressing to introduce a similar presumed consent model.

Mr Poots said British Prime Minister David Cameron had indicated to him that there were no plans for a UK-wide presumed consent system so the Northern Ireland Executive had decided to push ahead with its own proposal.

"I think there's a great opportunity out there to ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to live a full and healthy life who otherwise wouldn't and therefore that's why we want to put this out to public consultation to give feedback on this," he said.

"If the consultation comes back favourable we'll look to bring legislation forward."
I'm gonna show you as gently as I can how much you don't know.