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Popes legend’s sister to raise awareness of disease
By Elaine Sheridan
 The
sister of Popes legend the late Tom McManamon is campaigning to raise
awareness about a medical condition that is prevalent among the Irish
community.
Haemochromatosis is a genetic Celtic blood disease caused by excess iron
in the body and affects people from Northern Europe — especially
people of Irish, Scottish or Welsh descent.
It is estimated that roughly one in every 300-400 people is affected by
the condition, which is not tested for in Britain.
Now musician and actress Cathy McManamon wants to change all that and
raise awareness of the disease since discovering her family carry the
gene.
Her brother Tom — renowned throughout the world for his banjo playing
— died of pancreatitis a year ago but the family believe that the
Celtic blood disease could have contributed to the his death.
Ms McManamon — whose mum and dad hail from Co. Mayo — said:
“It was only at Tom’s wake that we found out about haemochromatosis.
“My cousin discovered that she had the disease after her brother
died from it.
“Then we started to think that maybe Tom had it too but we’ll
never know now.
“All the symptoms seem to point in that direction for sure.”
After requesting a blood test from the family doctor, Ms McManamon’s
sister Maria has since discovered that she is a carrier and Cathy herself
is awaiting results of a recent blood sample.
Now, one year after Tom’s untimely death, Ms McManamon is doing
a number of things to help inform people of Celtic origin of the dangers
of the blood disorder.
She is currently writing a play all about the colourful life and times
of her brother and the debilitating illness that brought his life to an
early end.
She said: “It’s two years since Tom passed away and myself
and my family just want to give something back.
“If we can help just one person get a diagnosis and prolong their
life then we have succeeded in getting the word out.
“If word gets out then more and more people will be aware of the
condition — especially the thousands of Irish people living in this
country.”
A tribute album in honour of Tom is in the final stages of production
and is due to be released early next year.
And a memorial Mass for the musician is due to take place on Saturday,
December 15 at St. Joseph’s Church in Highgate at 7pm.
The popular 39-year-old joined The Popes when it was formed by Pogues
legend Shane MacGowan in 1994 and enjoyed a long career with them until
he became ill.
He also played with Storm, The Pogues, Joe Strummer, U2 and Sinead O’Connor.
Haemochromatosis — a Celtic blood disease
Caused by excess iron in the body.
Iron accumulation can eventually cause organ damage, most importantly
in the liver and pancreas, manifesting as liver failure and diabetes.
Men are more likely to suffer from it as women regularly lose iron in
menstruation.
Usually occurs in those aged 30-60 because the build up of iron takes
years.
Blood tests are carried out but quite often a liver biopsy will confirm
the presence of excess iron.
The main treatment for the disease is regular bloodletting known as
therapeutic enesection — approx 500ml is frequently taken from the
body, in a similar way to blood donation. |
