Dom McElroy
The sad news that Gordon Brown's baby son has cystic fibrosis made me think about Dominic McElroy.
Dom was my flatmate in about 1998 and a member of the Labour Students National Committee with me.
He tragically died from cystic fibrosis in 2001 when he was only 27 years old.
Although he knew that he was not likely to live a long life and had to constantly remember medication and diet and go for check-ups he never made a fuss about his condition (most people who met him in politics were unaware of it) and in fact dedicated himself to Labour Party activism - packing in more voluntary and professional work for the Party into his 27 years than many people do into decades.
You can donate online to the cystic fibrosis trust, which is trying to research a cure, here: http://www.cftrust.org.uk/index.jsp
posted by Luke Akehurst at 8:18 pm
4 Comments:
That's sad.
You will be pleased to know that our operation in manchester to decapitate the trot foe will begin with a meeting on floor 18; the scene of the meeting that begun operation icepick.
We're only doing it for irony, of course...
11:04 pm, December 01, 2006
Luke,
I'm so glad you have posted about this, as I thought exactly the same thing.
As we both know, Dom wasn't the ideal flatmate (!) but his passion and determination to get the most of the short life he knew he had serves as an example to us all. He was also some one who was totally dedicated to the Labour Party in all its forms. He could reconcile an affection for Alice Mahon with a respect for Peter Mandelson and unswerving loyalty to Tom Watson.
You are also right to point out that he never drew attention to his condition. So many of our friends were totally unprepared for his early death because they had no inkling of his illness.
Please donate donate donate!
1:48 am, December 02, 2006
In Leeds we have a massive affection for Dom who kept the City Labour and kept 8 Leeds MPs in place at the 2001 General Election. If only we had his like since then. We had a big fundraiser for him after he died and gave the money to the CF Trust. One of the few times I remember us raising money not for the party.
1:45 pm, December 02, 2006
We all thought of Dom this week. I think of him most weeks to be honest. If ever there was a man who gave us all something to live for it was Dom.
I'm glad you're all honouring his memory.
1:10 am, December 03, 2006
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