Alumni Links Newsletter

Alumni Making a Difference - Tony Lundon

As a family doctor in the heart of Galway City for over 5 decades, Tony has dedicated his professional life to helping others, so when he was approached by a friend to garner his expertise on a new project, he was delighted to support.

Through his work and personal life Tony became acutely aware of the lack of structured support in our health service for children and teenagers whose lives have been shattered by the loss of a loved one.

A group of like-minded individuals, all experts in their fields and motivated through similar experiences in their own lives, came together to develop a service that didn’t yet exist in Galway but was desperately needed. Children from Galway and its environs who are negatively impacted by grief caused by the death of someone close to them, had nowhere to go to talk about their loss and their feelings.

Tony explains, “thankfully in Galway, we have access to facilities that help support young people’s mental health, but in circumstances like these, that is not always the issue. Grief is not an illness, and our volunteers are not counsellors. When a young person is grieving, sometimes all they need is a safe space to talk, an open door and the opportunity to say what they can’t say to their loved ones for fear of burdening those who are often grieving themselves. Our service is free of charge and our volunteers don’t give advice, they just listen in a confidential, warm, caring environment, 1 to 1. That’s the key”

The process of establishing HopeSpace began in March 2021. Tony believes that setting up a robust structure and developing good governance was crucial from the beginning and this led the team to applying for charitable status, which they were granted in December 2022. In February 2023 the service opened its doors and by March, just one month later, the volunteers welcomed their first young person.

Tony understood first-hand the importance of a facility like this, having experienced his own grief as a child, losing his beloved mother when he was just 14 years old. “It was my mother who engendered the caring nature in me that led to the career path I chose. She and my older sister always looked after everyone, she had no medical qualifications, but she was the carer in our community, everyone would come to her for support”.

It's clear the female role models in Tony’s life had huge influence over where he is today. His wife Maree, a physio herself, worked alongside him and supported him throughout his career. All these positive forces played a huge part in his understanding of giving back and as he notes “to doing something to help others always makes us feel better, we need to continue to instil this message in our future generations”.

In an earlier phase of his career, Tony gave of his time and expertise in a very different voluntary capacity. He became one of the founders of the GP’s of Ireland Pension Fund (GMS Pension scheme), a monumental development for the sector helping to bring financial security to GP’s and their families.

Tony feels extremely privileged to have served his community as a GP, represented his peers at government level and now serve on the Board of HopeSpace as a valued Trustee alongside other esteemed members of the Galway Community.

HopeSpace has gone from strength to strength in its first 18 months. The charity now has its own dedicated space in Ballybane, a part time office administrator to help run the organisation and expanded plans for Community Engagement through public talks and workshops. Thanks to the collective action of a group who saw a need within our community and addressed it with such energy and positivity, the future is bright for HopeSpace and the young people it supports.

Now semi-retired, Tony is finding new ways of keeping busy. He looks forward to his new role as incoming Captain of the Oughterard Golf Club and is one of a local group excitedly organising the 50^th Reunion of his Medical Class of 1975. All this whilst continuing to be an intrinsic part of the team at HopeSpace, working tirelessly to be there for those in need as he has done for the last 50 years and beyond.

Click on the link and find out more about HopeSpace and the fantastic work it does.