Eva Duggan Award: Speech Delivered by Colman Duggan
Inaugural Eva Duggan Award presented by Colman on behalf of the Duggan family
Madam Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of Patrick, Victor and myself thank you for your invitation to make the inaugural presentation of The Eva Duggan Award.
For our family this award has two roots. First, to honour Eva’s contribution to Occupational Therapy and in doing so to provide seed funding for what we hope will become a perpetual award to celebrate excellence in Paediatric Occupational Therapy. This is what is what we believe, Eva herself would have been happy to leave as a final legacy to her profession.
The second root lies in the memory of many years of dinner time conversation, when the possibilities and challenges of Occupational Therapy were discussed on a daily basis, by an O.T. who could talk enthusiastically about her work all day long.
In the course of those conversations, we were schooled in concepts such as sensory integration, fine motor movements, the uses of a unicorn stick, wheel chair and house adaptations and the frustrations which got in the way at times in achieving best outcomes for her clients.
As time passed, Eva would refer to the growing body of research in the field, but the practical differences in client’s lives which therapy could make were always her first priority. An example which comes to mind, was an Ann Beckett Award Application she visited at the Central Mental Hospital where she was so moved by a project involving the minding of chickens, aimed, if I remember correctly at increasing the patients’ sense of empathy. She was impressed by the creativity of such a project and the outcomes reported.
Eva practiced as an occupational therapist for forty one years until illness stopped her in her tracks. Thirty one of those years she spent promoting the abilities of children and young people whose disabilities get in the way of their daily living.
The writer Christopher Nolan, born with a severe form of cerebral palsy, captured very well, early in Eva’s career, the enthusiastic, painstaking and methodical way in which she approached teaching him to type, making use of a unicorn stick strapped about his head, itself an innovation at the time. This combined with medically prescribed lioresal to relax muscle spasm, was like a eureka moment for him releasing the development of talents that were to bring fame as an award winning writer. However none of this would have been possible without the heroic care, devotion and advocacy of Christy’s mother, Bernadette. Together they went on to become Eva’s personal friends into his adult life.
From 1974 to the time of her passing in 2017 Eva was a proud member of AOTI and loved participating in this, your Annual Conference about which we enjoyed detailed reports. She served on a number of committees in the Association over that time including the original Leinster Branch, the Paediatric Committee, the Conference Committee and most dear to her heart, The Ann Beckett Award Committee. Ann was her first manager at the Central Remedial Clinic, her friend and professional heroine.
Among Eva’s final tasks before her death, were, to have me print off the Ann Beckett applications that she was planning to visit that autumn and also her application to register with C.O.R.U. While neither of those were to materialise they give eloquent testimony to her professional commitment to the very end.
Thank you for allowing me the privilege to participate as a lay member on the first panel to evaluate the applications for The Eva Duggan Award. I dare to speak for the entire panel in commending the very high standard of the shortlisted applications, which made choosing the first Award winner a real challenge. None should feel discouraged in considering an Application for next year. They all testify to the innovation, dedication, energy and enthusiasm clearly at work in Paediatric Occupational Therapy.
As a family our wish is that the Eva Duggan Award will become one to acknowledge the best in Paediatric Occupational Therapy long into the future.
Colman Duggan
7th October 2022
