Dedication
The Duan exhibition in New York is dedicated to a very special person - Edel Duignan. A devoted mother and wife Edel Duignan's death at just 41 years of age was premature in the extreme but she crammed more into her 41 years than some people do in double that life span. Nee O'Connell, Edel Duignan was a native of Kiminchy in Portlaoise. She was well known in her adopted county as the wife of former Offaly hurling hero, Michael Duignan - An All-Ireland senior hurling medal winner in 1994 and 1998, All-Star in 1998 and currently a very prominent analyst of big hurling games on RTE - but that is only a small part of the Edel Duignan life story.
Before marrying Michael, Edel came from a strong Offaly background. Her mother, Christine was a Morris from Mountbolus and it was here that she met her husband, Jerry O'Connell when he served as a garda in the village. They later settled in Portlaoise and Edel was born there 41 years ago. Edel attended Primary School in Portlaoise and secondary level in Kilcullen and after completing her Leaving Certificate, she embarked on a nursing course in Peamount Hospital in Dublin.
She spent a year here before taking up an appointment with Allied Irish Bank in Cabra. She made many friends here, too numerous to mention, and spent the remainder of her working life in AIB and worked variously in Rathfarnham, Terenure, Celbridge, Finglas and later in Tullamore and Mullingar before illness forced her to give up her job in 2006.
She met Michael Duignan in the Rathfarnham branch in early 1990 when Michael worked there and they soon fell in love.Edel Duignan was a tremendously committed and dedicated worker and she became Human Resources Manager in Finglas, covering almost a dozen branches in the greater Dublin north West area.
Edel and Michael Duignan got married in October 1995, at a time when Offaly were riding the crest of a hurling wave and they had two sons, Sean in February 1998 and Brian in October 2000. Edel and Michael purchased a house in Naas shortly before they got married and they spent a few very happy years here in the company of many friends - including Evelyn and Martin McKeon - before her life changed in October 2001 when she was diagnosed with cancer.
Edel fought a long and incredibly brave battle with illness. It was in the face of such adversity that Edel displayed her real character. She never complained about the hand that life had dealt her, she never complained during her long and intensive treatment.
At all times, the interest and welfare of her husband and children was paramount. Indeed, she continued to display a great enthusiasm for life and this included taking up new hobbies in latter years. She became an active and valued member of Dochas, the Tullamore cancer support group and completed a photography course. This became one of her great passions as she took thousands of pictures of friends, family and events, leaving a host of treasured memories behind her. A couple of her pictures featured in a Dochas book, 'Eyes Wide Open', which was published in 2008. Edel also took up art under the direction of one of her closest friends, Siobhan McCormack-Ryan. She was a woman of remarkable fortitude and this was never better demonstrated than when she completed the Dublin ladies mini marathon in June 2009 - raising funds for Dochas in the process - just three days after undergoing a Chemotherapy session. And she was in great form afterwards as her and other competitors from Durrow enjoyed a celebratory drink in Tom Mangan's Doheny and Nesbitts on Baggott Street.
Edel possessed a lot of great qualities. She was a very honest woman and anything she took on, whether work or otherwise, she gave total commitment. During the 1990s and early 2000s, she was totally devoted to the hurling career of her husband, Michael who was travelling from their Naas home to training at various Offaly venues up to four times a week, during a period when they began to rear young children. Edel was a successful athlete in her youth, playing basketball, hockey and much more and her brothers played football and hurling. Edel was always a big sports enthusiast and was hugely supportive to Michael's GAA career throughout.
She was a very popular member of the greater Offaly hurling family of that never to be forgotten era. She and Michael became lifelong friends of Joe and Marie Dooley and Edel was also extremely friendly with the other wives and partners. She was also an understanding confidant of the younger players and she got great pleasure out of Offaly's many successes in that period. She enjoyed the social aspect of hurling at the time, the trips to games and celebratory holidays abroad and she revelled in the craic and sessions that are such a big part of the enjoyment of big wins.
Her early death was a great tragedy to her family and many friends and admirers. She will be forever missed by her family and friends, but her inspirational attitude to life and making the most of 'now' will live on in our hearts.
Siobhan will be forever grateful to her friend for her endless support of her work, for the wonderful memories they shared, and for her endless inspiration which Siobhan will carry forever. From their conversations, Siobhan knows that the Duan exhibition is something that Edel would loved to have attended, and she feels that her friend will be there in spirit. She feels this has guided the Durrow theme of the art exhibition, which is inspired by Edel's family home.
She is honoured to dedicate Duan to Edel Duignan's memory.
Early in 2009 Edel was asked by a fellow cancer patient to write a short piece on the positives to come out of her condition for a book that she was writing. Here is what Edel had to say:
'In September 2002 I was 34 years of age, married with two small children aged 2 and 4 and Human Resources Regional Manager with one of main financial institutions. A very busy schedule! In was diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump and within weeks our entire lives had changed. Following a mastectomy and a year of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy treatment we set about adjusting our lives.
We relocated to the midlands and I returned to work on reduced hours. I put the condition behind me and set about continuing our lives while making many changes in my work schedule and diet in order to ensure future good health.
Fast forward to January 2006 and I was diagnosed with cancer secondaries. Needless to say initially, both I and my husband were devastated. Cancer is now part of my life and I am on regular chemotherapy to control the desease. As I mentioned it is part of my life but it is also part of my immediate and extended family life.
My first thought when Sue asked me to write a little about the positives that have come out of my condition was that this wouldn't be a problem as I was talking to one of the positives! I have been lucky enough to meet the most inspiring people on my journey and find no matter how ill we feel there are always others who are fighting a more difficult battle.
There is no doubt when we are faced with any major issues in our lives it makes us sit up and evaluate what we have in our lives and what we need to do to ensure we hold onto a good quality of life.
Over the last few years I have developed my mind spiritually and while I always had a strong faith I now find prayer relaxing and enjoyable and have strengthened my relationship with God. I enjoy Yoga and Meditation and now take time out on a daily basis to meditate.
I mage a promise to myself to try and get at least one good thought out of every day, whether this is making someone laugh or just meeting up with friends and enjoying a chat.
I have enjoyed the benefits of alternative treatments and find Acupuncture, Reflexology, Bio-Energy and Reiki really helpful to me.
I certainly have much more appreciation for the simple things in life, while I have always enjoyed walking I now take in the fabulous countryside, the changing seasons and the dodgy weather!
As my sons grow up I enjoy their youth and innocence more than ever and take more time to capture special moments be it a comment or a story from one of them that could easily be forgotten, I now write them down to recite at a later date!
I took up art lessons with a good friend of mine and local artist Siobhan, and while I will never be Van Gough I discovered a love of painting that I never knew I had! I have several masterpieces to prove it!
In addition, I did a photography course in the local Cancer Support Centre "Dochas" and as a result of this course we published a beautiful book supported by a creative writing group and successfully launched this book in December 2008 with all sales income going to support Dochas.
Overall I have many positives as a result of my condition, but to me the most important must be the goodness and kindness I have experienced from people. There is good in everyone but sometimes we forget to look for it. I enjoy good company and always a good laugh, and value family and friends more than anything else in my life.
My visits to the Oncology Day Ward in St. James is always a great experience between catching up with people I have previously met and having a laugh with the staff there who are a fantastic bunch of people.'
Del
A few words on behalf of Edel's brothers and sisters
How do you sum up a life? Some are easier than others. Edel's is not one of those. Just over 40 years of happiness, energy and sparkle is harder to describe than you think. Del was a mother and a wife, a daughter too and to us, a sister we loved dearly and miss terribly.
We've lost someone special. The loss for Mammy and Daddy is incalculable and is something I cannot attempt to express. You see, the sister everyone deserved to have, was our sister. We get on with it, but things are not the same and they never will be.
Most of all, we've lost that sparkle. And her colour. That colour that hovered around her everywhere she went. I'll also miss the generous smile and the genuine optimism where optimism had no right to be.
People ask us how we're doing. We say 'grand' but that's not true. Nothing can prepare you for this. Nothing can describe this feeling. Del's passing has left a gap. Sometimes, the gap can feel gigantic, sometimes it just feels huge. But what we didn't lose are the memories. Even now, we can isolate these, right down to occasions, dates and even times.
So, it's with a mixture of disbelief and grief, we say thanks. Thanks for being a brilliant sister and a brilliant person. Thanks for listening to me, agreeing with me, helping me, encouraging me, setting me straight and leading me astray. One in a million doesn't describe it. Numbers couldn't do her justice. Neither can words for that matter.
We will truly never see her like again.