A Tipperary man with a charming smile and a contagious zest for life

Eamonn Lonergan’s working life has been one dedicated to Mental Health and Care of the Elderly services.
His books offer an insight into his passion for his work as Eamonn believes, “These two vulnerable groups hadn’t any great voice in the community, and a certain amount of it was they were out of sight, out of mind.”

Eamonn greets me at his home in Shamrock Hill in Clonmel, where he has lived since 1979, on a beautiful sunny afternoon. Just back from his granddaughter’s wedding in Umbria, Italy, where he said he was one of the oldest there, “but had a great time talking to all the high-flying young ones.”

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His pale blue eyes, charming smile, both enhanced by his newly acquired tan and linen suit, give him the air of a seasoned traveller.

SHEEHY TERRACE
Settling ourselves in his sitting room, Eamonn needed little encouragement to talk. With fond memories he recalls that his was one of the first families to move into Sheehy Terrace. His mother Nora O’Donnell was born in Thomas Street, where the High School gym now stands.

Eamonn’s father Jack was from “only down the road” in Kilsheelan. He worked with the County Council on the roads as a steamroller driver, which meant he’d have to be in work early in the morning to have steam up for tarring, often staying on location in council-supplied vans.
Steam was generated in much the same way as steam trains by shovelling coal into the furnace. When diesel rollers came in all he had to do was turn it on and drive away, no more dawn rising.

The second oldest of four children, his brothers Sean and Billy are now gone but his sister Breda Ryan is still alive. He remembers the ration books of the war era when basic foodstuffs were rationed. Eamonn sings the old song which goes, ‘God bless de Valera and Seán MacEntee, they gave us brown bread and a half ounce of tea’, adapted for Ireland from the World War I song ‘Bless ‘Em All’. “That was a half-pound of tea?” I clarify. “God no, Bagwell himself wouldn’t get a half pound of tea,” Eamonn says, laughing. Shops mixed and measured their own tea and “you’d never know if you were getting your 4oz or not.”
“We grew the usual vegetables, cabbage, potatoes, rhubarb. Thank God, we were happy and never hungry,” he says.

FRANK PATTERSON
Eamonn was born in October 1938, the same month and year as Clonmel man, Frank Patterson, the internationally renowned Irish tenor. Lifelong friends, they attended the ‘Old School’ in Kickham Street where the current Ss Peter and Paul’s Primary School is today. Eamonn shows me a photograph of their confirmation in 1948, acknowledging “that most of them are now dead”.

“There was no free secondary education in those days, and a share of people would have dropped out,” he says. Awarded a County Council scholarship to the High School valued at £150, Eamonn “stayed for the long haul,” showing me a photo of himself in the High School annual in 1952.

BROTHER MOYNIHAN
I ask Eamonn who influenced him as a young person? There is no hesitation as he replies earnestly, “Brother Moynihan, a teacher in the High School, also a Superior, he encouraged me to do the scholarship.” In those days in the High School there were only six teachers, three Christian Brothers and three lay teachers.
Eamonn successfully sat the exams for the Civil Service and Waterford County Council, working as a clerical officer in Dublin in 1957. Later that year, he got a call for a permanent job in Dungarvan and that call “changed his life story”. Eamonn was now with the general health services and in 1960, the health services were amalgamated forming the Waterford Health Authority, and he was a clerical officer in accounts.

Eamonn met Lena in Dungarvan. Originally from Mallow, Lena also worked in the health service and they married in 1963. In those days married women had to give up their job and Lena was no different. The following year twins Paula and Kathryn were born, a big surprise. Four more children came along: Yvonne, Deirdre, Eamonn and Brendan. With sadness he says, “Lena is dead 15 years since last February, she was only 66.”

Eamonn became assistant manager of St Luke’s Hospital in 1965 “and was back home.” That same year Dr Paddy Meehan filled the post of Resident Medical Superintendent (Chief Psychiatrist), successfully working together for many years.

ST.LUKE’S
When the South Eastern Health Board was set up in 1971 a Special Hospitals Programmes was established for Elderly Care Hospitals and Psychiatric Hospitals. This meant Eamonn was now manager of St Luke’s Clonmel and St Patrick’s Cashel, “another jump up the line” for him.

Eamonn recalls, “It was a lot of work as St Luke’s had a farm of about 320 acres and were virtually self-sufficient with food, employing over 300 staff, as good an employer as any factory in Clonmel at that time.”
In 1984 Dr Meehan and Dr Jim Morrison suggested they plan something for the 150th anniversary of St Luke’s Hospital in 1985. Eamonn was interested in the old minute books down in the basement and realised he had enough material to put together a book on it and that’s how his writing started.

FIRST BOOK
He couldn’t believe the reception his first book St. Luke’s Hospital, Clonmel 1985 received. Eamonn was delighted when The Irish Times gave his book the full column in the Irishman’s Diary, and counts this as one of his great achievements.
In 1992, as the 150th Anniversary of St Patrick’s Hospital approached, Dr Willie Ryan suggested to Eamonn, “You’re the manager here and you should write the history of this hospital also.”
A Workhouse Story: A history of St. Patrick’s Hospital, Cashel 1842 - 1992 was Eamonn’s second book and he remembers the discipline needed researching the National Archives.

This book was launched by Archbishop Clifford and Eamonn proudly points to the picture of himself, Lena and the Archbishop at the launch. There were 700 or 800 copies printed, “and you wouldn’t get one anywhere now,” he says. He was working at this time, writing books and going to soccer matches. “It’s a wonder I wasn’t divorced,” he laughs.
PROJECT MANAGER

In 1995 it was decided that general hospital services should be located in one site in Clonmel. A new range of services were being provided in Our Lady’s in Cashel and some in Tipperary Town. Eamonn was offered the job to project manage the Cashel/Tipperary section, leaving St Luke’s to take on this position.
It was suggested to him that he should complete the trilogy by writing a book on St Joseph’s, and Eamonn’s third book St Joseph’s Hospital Clonmel: An Historical and Social Portrait, 2000, was another huge success.
Eamonn was retired when the health boards were abolished and the CEO of the health board Pat McLoughlin suggested Eamonn write a history of the health board and his fourth book was born, entitled A History of South Eastern Health Board, 2004. Five counties were included and Eamonn’s idea to put some newspaper reports on board meetings into the book makes for fascinating reading, one article on the availability of condoms had us both laughing as Eamonn says, “you’d buy them everywhere now!”

As the last patients were being discharged from St Luke’s Hospital, in 2012 Eamonn was asked to write and update a history on it from 1985 up to closure. This book St Luke’s Hospital Clonmel, A Commemorative History, 1834 - 2012 was, he says, “the perfect end to my initial one”.

Eamonn’s books are not analytical but more a record of services. “In the 1950s, Ireland had the highest rate in the world in psychiatric institutions, with over 900 patients in residence in St Luke’s. Overcrowding was a major factor. There was never money for upgrading accommodation or extra facilities. The department would have been great for talking but giving you the money to actually improve things was another matter,” Eamonn says.

He remembers being involved in buying the old cleaning and laundry building in Morton Street from the Sisters of Charity in 1988. “Eventually a new Mental Health Centre was erected and opened in 2009, that’ll give you an indication how slow progression is,” he says.

VULNERABLE GROUPS
He firmly believes that the elderly and mentally ill patients were always at the bottom of the pile when funding was allocated, saying, “a certain amount of it was, they were out of sight, out of mind, therefore these two vulnerable groups hadn’t any great voice in the community.”
The biggest change he has seen in this sector is that there are no more inpatients in St Luke’s Hospital.
The structure that was there virtually disappeared, though he knew it was going to scale down.

COMMUNITY SERVICES
With the development of community services and modern medicine people can be treated and live a normal life.
“You still need places for people who are unable to be catered for in the community but you’ll never need the locked door set up and restrictive lives,” he says. Happy that that’s gone he says, “It was of its time but without doubt there were people in there unnecessarily.”

Eamonn shows me his last published writing, Reunion 1946 – 2014 Griffith Avenue, Davitt Avenue, and Slievenamon Road, printed by Brendan Power.

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Eamonn dedicates a full page of it to the then Irish Ambassador Anne Anderson, who was born in Slievenamon Road. On the launch night in Eldon’s, his favourite pub, these books were quickly sold out and more had to be printed.
There is no doubt that Eamonn’s working life is the history of our evolving health services. From the Health Authorities to the Health Boards to our present day Health Service Executive (HSE), Eamonn has been an active, passionate and progressive participant in all these areas. This is well reflected in his books.

IRISH SOCCER
Always on the go, his other passions include Tipperary hurling and Irish soccer. He recalls never missing a Tipperary All-Ireland, and has followed the Irish soccer team all over the world. During the Winter, he can be found in the Emigrants Rest pub playing 25s, his favourite game of cards. Eamonn’s zest for life is as contagious as his charming smile.