Tributes paid to SWAH Paediatrician at retirement event

For, the man they were honouring was much more than a distinguished Consultant Paediatrician, he was and is an exceptional human being who has touched the lives of so many Fermanagh children and their families in his 21 years in the county and indeed all over Northern Ireland.

Speaker after speaker praised his great leadership qualities as a man who guided others with humanity, respect and wisdom. One speaker said he led from the back, the ultimate practitioner of holistic medicine and the ultimate carer.

Dr. Samantha Thompson, Consultant Paediatrician at the SWAH, who ran the evening with wit and effortless efficiency, thanked Dr. Mackin for his great help and guidance over the years and how he helped her and many others in their careers.

She thanked him for being such a “supportive and loyal colleague to me and made my career much better".

“And he has done so much for many children across Northern Ireland over the last 35 years.

“He was the Paediatric Community Lead in WHSCT who has looked after so many complex children.

“Unfortunately, some through some very hard times and to the very end.

“He also found the time to be, the Safeguarding Child Protection Lead for the WHSCT and the EPILEPSY Consultant for the Southern Sector and Amongst Acute Care and everything else.

“Needless to say, he will be missed.” 

Sam Thompson, Lorna Armstrong, Beth Panc and Christine Baxter and front Martina McGrath and Catherine O’Rourke. (Image: Trevor Armstrong)

Consultant Paediatrician, Dr. Nicholas Lipscomb said they were “here to celebrate Gerry’s career, his friendship and to say thank you and to share a few memories".

Dr Lipscomb recalled when he first met Dr. Mackin in 2007.

“I came to Fermanagh, and it was great, and I will never forget his acts of kindness which he did so naturally and he gave me so much support which really meant so much to me and it was typical of his friendliness and support and ability to build up a good team.

“You left very big shoes to fill but we are very grateful to you for all you have done for us and for making Paediatrics a better place to work.

“The SWAH benefited hugely from you.

“Your patients and colleagues loved you and we will all miss you, but we are all better for having worked with you and that friendship will not end after you retire.”

Ray Nethercott, Mary Ledwidge and Neil Corrigan. (Image: Trevor Armstrong)

Meanwhile, Professor Ronan O’Hare on behalf of the Western Trust, quipped that “Gerry had beaten me to retirement".

“As a friend and colleague in the SWAH and beyond Gerry is right up there with the very best of the most iconic consultants in Northern Ireland.

“It is a tribute to Gerry that he is held in such high esteem by all his colleagues and it's something that the Mackin family should be very proud of, that their father and husband got to the iconic levels that he did.

“We were all in a safe pair of hands and you could always rely on Gerry as a friend and a colleague.

“And the little people of this world have a lot to thank Gerry Mackin for, children and their families and for all that he has done for them all over the north and west.

“He gave his heart and soul to their well-being.

“We all learned from them, and he has been in Enniskillen for 21 years and just think of the impact he has had on children’s lives and on their well-being and their families.

“Lastly, on behalf of the Western Trust, I would like to thank Gerry for his 21 years of service and he is held in the highest and showed the highest professionalism and the Western Trust is lucky to have had him and he has left a great legacy with SWAH.”

Carmel O’Kane, Joanne Wilson, Damien McHugh, Christine Baxter, Becku Harte and Maura Mackie. (Image: Trevor Armstrong)

The extremely modest Dr. Mackin told The Impartial Reporter that he was flabbergasted at the sheer numbers who turned out for his party.

“I am so delighted, and it was the variety of people that were here, and we all worked together as a team and it was so nice to have them all here.

“It was much bigger than I thought.

“I was born in Belfast and left in 1984 and trained in England and worked there.”

When asked what attracted him to Paediatrics, he said: “In Paediatrics, you are looking after the whole family and not just the child and that is holistic.

“Children get better quickly, and it is very heartening to see a child that is very sick and then 24 hours later is running around playing.

“And that is a very nice part of the job but there is another part of the job where you have children with long-term conditions who don’t get better and that is hard but being able to be a small part of their lives was a pleasure and an honour for me to be involved with them.

“I was involved with a number of families in those difficult situations, and I was glad to be of some help to them,” Dr. Mackin said, adding that he still meets some of the children and families he has treated when doing his shopping at Dunnes Stores.

Dr. Mackin came to Fermanagh 21 years ago as a Paediatric Consultant in the old Erne Hospital and then in the SWAH.

“My first impression was that it was very green and wet.

“I had only been through Fermanagh once in my life and people did not travel as much back in those days.

“I did not want to work in Belfast but coming to Fermanagh was probably the best thing I had ever done.

“It allowed me to do more and have a much wider area.”

He added: “Fermanagh is small and very friendly, and Enniskillen is a great town to live in.

“It is a mixed town, and we were isolated from some of the divisions in other parts of Northern Ireland.

“We came here at a good time, and it is a great place to bring up children.

“I have some great memories of the SWAH and I am very glad that we managed to set up a designated Children’s Centre in the hospital.

“When you go into the hospital and you turn left, you have the Children’s Centre with all the services, and it is all together," Dr. Mackin explained before he concluded by paying tribute to Dr. Thompson who organised the night: “And Samantha Thompson is a wonderful Paediatrician and the SWAH is lucky to have her.”