The Doherty's from Francis Street lost our best friend and biggest inspiration this year - Our Daddy Gerry. Many knew him as a musician, a performer, a scholar, a joker, a chess player, a judo player, a philosopher and an adventurer - I would say he was a man who embraced every aspect of life with an avid curiosity and open mindedness you seldom find. He was a great listener - he dropped pearls of wisdom so unassumingly to those who needed them and, in such a way, it was never advice - it was comfort. He was graceful. He was full of the craic and he only ever wanted to help people.

In his later years Daddy's health started to wane - just before Liam died we discovered he had kidney failure. He attended the renal unit for many years before he started dialysis which he did at home himself for as long as he could until necessity facilitated the switch to hemodialysis at Altnagelvin Renal Unit. I thought it would be difficult for him physically and at times it was but the love and care he received from the staff at the Renal Unit was second to none. The nurses became a second family to him - he would come home with all their stories and I could see how much they meant to him. Well I thought I could until I actually did see how much they cared for him.

On the day of Daddy's funeral my family and friends decided we wanted this care for other people too. We want end of life care to be gentle and filled with love like our father. So in his name we have learned to run and are running The Reindeer Run on 10/12/16 in Eskra, Omagh for the Renal Unit - for him. To say Thank you! Please help us in any way you can x