June 2022

mug and calculator

The branded PVCR Mug ( Patient Voice in Cancer Research): A mug for having the cup of tea, a very important part of every PVCR meeting of patients and researchers.

The calculator references the fact that I am a numbers man. My life has been built around working with figures both while employed and now in retirement.

tom  hope

Originally from Loughrea, Co Galway, Tom now lives in Dunboyne, Co. Meath, with his wife Kitty, and the family pets, Molly a 15 month Shih Tzu and Lucy the cat. Tom is a retired accountant and father of three. He likes to walk and do some vegetable gardening.

wimbledon queue card

This is a Queue Card from 2015 from my first trip with my first Godson and nephew Aaron Byrnes. Shortly after returning I was diagnosed with cancer. The goal was to return when recovered. We eventually returned in 2018 following a lucky lottery selection through the Wimbledon draw.

ciara mcnamara

Ciara is from Limerick and is passionate about rugby and tennis. She is happiest when cheering on the Munster rugby team and listening to her favourite band Hermitage Green. She also loves musical theatre, and would one day like to be an extra in a movie.

lorna donlon

Having grown up in suburban Dublin, Lorna Donlon lived for many years in the countryside of Co. Kilkenny, before recently returning to live in the Big Smoke. She loves trees and gardens and nature and inevitably she will have an interesting leaf, flower, or ‘curious-oddity-for-further-inspection’ in her pocket.

card

This is a Thank You card I received after doing a school visit to my eldest daughter’s class in school when she was about 6 or 7, over 15 years ago. I was asked to come to the school for science week and give a talk. I decided to make it a bit more fun and brought some liquid nitrogen and a few other ‘sciencey’ things (to do some experiments). The kids loved it, especially when I pretended to freeze my gloved hand in nitrogen and smashed my ‘frozen finger’ (aka pork sausage) with a hammer! I was treated like royalty afterwards and it reminds me of the fun that science can create. 

stephen gordon

Stephen was born in Derby, England to Irish parents who moved the family back to Mayo in the late 1970s. His roots mean he supports Derby County football club as well as the Mayo GAA football team.