Organ Donation - Strange Boat Donor Foundation

13/08/2026

Such sad news for all in the IKA and for Chikoyo's family and friends, and such an unbearably sad time for Colin. Our deepest condolences to Colin, and may Chikoyo continue to live in eternal light and peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Martina & Denis, Strange Boat Donor Foundation.

23/07/2026

Denis and I would like to thank you all for responding to the post about Éamonn’s 20th anniversary, and for the beautiful comments made about him. It is so comforting and heartening for us to know that Éamonn was so well thought of and still remembered by all who knew him and by those who might have only met him briefly.
We still miss him and his gentle, unassuming presence and think of him every day, but we also truly believe in the Virgil inscription from the Circle of Life Garden (below).
Míle buíochas daoibh uilig

22/07/2026

Remembering Éamonn on his 20th anniversary with two poems written in the years immediately following his death, but which still resonate so strongly today.

BY MY SHOULDER

Death is but a transition
The mystics say
Suffering makes us strong
Setting the spirit free
The sages say.

Time heals all wounds
Helping us grow
Day by day.

Without you by may
Shoulder guiding me
All the time and wisdom
In the world wouldn’t
Take the pain away.

THANK YOU

Thanks for your life
A life you lived selflessly

Thanks for your love
A love you gave freely

Thanks for your respect
Respect you had naturally

Thanks for your friends
Friends whose loyalty comforts me

Thanks for your light
A light now helping us to see

Thanks for staying near
Near and always close to me

Thank you for still being you.

21/07/2026

This is such wonderful news for such a brave little boy. Sending Dáithí and his family our warmest wishes. Our thoughts and appreciation also with the donor family for their unselfishness and generosity.

Dáithí has received the gift of a heart transplant. His wait, the longest of any child in the world for a heart transplant, is over.

Dáithí is at the beginning of his recovery. There have already been some big wins for him, but there is still a long road ahead, and we would ask you all to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Organ donation is the greatest gift anyone can ever give.

We are beyond grateful to Dáithí’s donor and their family for making such a selfless decision at the most difficult time imaginable. Out of respect for them, and for their privacy, we won’t be saying anything more at this stage.

Please keep talking about organ donation. Those conversations save lives.

22/06/2026

Magical evening light during Solstice week in the
Circle of Life Garden

26/05/2026

26/05/2026

NORTH/SOUTH ORGAN DONATION EVENT at the
CIRCLE OF LIFE GARDEN

Denis and I would like to thank all who made the journey from every corner of the country to remember and honour organ donors at what was a very special and unique gathering at the Circle of Life Garden on Saturday last.
This was the first time organ donor families, organ recipients and representatives of the medical profession and health services from both the North and South of Ireland came together to promote the cause of organ donation on an all-Island basis.
We specially thank Uachtarán na hÉireann, Catherine Connolly, for her thoughtful, heartfelt words. and all the participants who spoke with passion and conviction, and whose contributions gave meaning and significance to the event.

The gathering centred around the gifting of a heritage stone from the site of the sixth century Bangor Abbey in Co Down by the organ donation and transplant community of Northern Ireland to its sister community in the South. The stone was unveiled by President Connolly, assisted by Dáithí MacGabhann, the nine year old Belfast boy who is awaiting a heart transplant and after whom the new opt out legislation in the North of Ireland is named - Dáithí’s Law.
We are privileged that this unique stone now stands proudly in the Circle of Life Garden, a testament to the friendship and cooperation being fostered between the two organ donation transplantation communities.

As with all events held at the Circle of Life Garden we specially honoured and remembered organ donors and their families who, at the most difficult time in their lives, unselfishly gave the gift of life to others.

We very much appreciate the support of the ODTI (Organ Donation Transplant Ireland), the Irish Kidney Association, members of the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Public Health Agency and the organ donation community of Northern Ireland.

A special word of thanks to Eleanor Shanley whose powerful and emotive singing of the Waterboy’s “Strange Boat” had many people in tears. Thanks also to John Feely for his sensitive accompaniment on guitar.

And last but not least we thank our wonderful local volunteers whose hard work and commitment ensured the garden looked stunning in the beautiful sunshine.

Speakers included:
Uachtarán na hÉireann, Catherine Connolly
Deputy Mayor of Galway, Alan Cheevers
Ryan Wilson, Director of Secondary Care with responsibility for organ donation at the Northern Ireland Dept. of Health
Máirtín MacGabhann from Belfast, father of Dáithí
Peter Conlon, Director of Organ Donation Transplant Ireland and Consultant Nephrologist at Beaumont Hospital
Galway man Eoin Madden who received a kidney transplant at Belfast City Hospital as part of the Paired Kidney Exchange Programme between Northern Ireland, the UK and the twenty-six counties.

Nár lage Dia sibh uilig, and we hope and pray that Dáithí soon receives his all important heart transplant.

Martina and Denis
Strange Boat Donor Foundation

19/05/2026

ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES AND ORGAN FAILURE KNOWS NO BORDERS

We are very much looking forward to welcoming Uachtarán na hÉireann, Catherine Connolly, to a North/South Collaborative Organ Donation Transplantation Event at the Circle of Life Garden in Salthill on Saturday next, 23rd May, the last day of organ donor awareness week.

This will be the first time organ donor families and recipients, clinicians and health service personnel from the North and South of Ireland will come together to celebrate the gift of life which defines organ donation, and to promote the cause of donation and transplantation on an all-Island basis.

Uachtarán na hÉireann, Catherine Connolly, will be joined by nine-year-old Belfast boy, Dáithí MacGabhann, to unveil in the Garden, a heritage stone from the 6th Century Bangor Abbey in Co. Down, which is being gifted by the Organ Donation & Transplant Community of Northern Ireland to its Sister Community in the South.

Dáithí McGabhann was born with a heart defect and has been on a heart transplant waiting list since 2018. In recognition of Dáithí’s and his family’s vigorous campaign, the new opt out organ donation law for Northern Ireland which was implemented in 2023, is named in his honour, “Dáithí’s Law”.

While this North/South collaborative event is designed to help create a greater sense of identification with, and connection to the Circle of Life Garden by the North’s organ donation transplantation community, it will also emphasise the importance of conversations and leaving loved ones in no doubt about your organ donation decision.

It will also reflect the important and potential benefits of an integrated and shared approach at every level to organ donation and transplantation, as organ donation saves lives and organ failure knows no borders.

Martina & Denis
Strange Boat Donor Foundation

13/05/2026