THE first person to die of measles in Ireland in over 20 years has been named as popular bus driver Pat Gorman.
Mr Gorman, 48 and from Milltownpass in Co Westmeath, passed away in the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar on February 7 several days after contracting the disease.
The 25-year Bus Eireann veteran is believed to have picked it up while seeing a show in Birmingham in the UK.
Pat’s family has now appealed to the Irish public to get the MMR vaccine to “spare another family this heartache”.
Saying they had been overwhelmed with messages and tributes to Pat, Tom Gorman, speaking on behalf of the family, told the Sunday Times: “We have received messages from people who met Pat on his 120 route from Edenderry to Dublin, which he drove for 18 years, or more recently the 115 route from Mullingar to Dublin.
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“The stories we’ve been told, about how he would brighten even the darkest day for his passengers with a greeting and a smile, have given us some comfort.
“We wish to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who has supported us.”
Older brother Tom added that Pat, along with his siblings, was not vaccinated against measles when he was younger.
He said that Pat also didn’t contract the disease as a child.
Tom told the Sunday Times: “If talking about measles can spare another family this heartache, that’s what we’d like to do.
“We’re hoping that if anything can come from this terrible situation, it’s that someone else might be spared.”
Pat’s death notice on rip.ie states that he will be “greatly missed and forever remembered by his heartbroken family”.
He was buried on Sunday, February 11 in the local cemetery at St Joseph’s Church in Milltownpass.
A tribute online by Brian Crehan on February 8 described Pat as “the friendliest bus driver in all of Ireland”.
He added: “Even if you were in the foulest of form he’d manage to get a smile out of anyone and everyone.”
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Caroline Mangan Connolly posted another tribute and said Pat was a “true gentleman,” adding: “The 115 has lost an amazing person. The people of Mullingar and Bus Eireann are truly heartbroken.”
Stephen Kent, CEO of Bus Eireann, said Pat was “a beacon of positivity” and added: “He will be deeply missed.”
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre, which produces weekly infectious diseases reports, said there were 11 possible cases of measles in Ireland in its latest study from Wednesday, February 21.
The possible cases are spread around the country, with two in the east, three in the northeast, one in the south, four in the southeast and one in the west.
Five suspected cases are in kids aged under four, four in kids aged between five and nine and one in a child aged between 10 and 14.
The last possible case involved a patient whose age is listed as “unknown”.
Earlier this month the HSE warned against a resurgence of measles and said there was “serious concern” because uptake of both doses of the MMR vaccine here has been below 90 per cent for some time.
More information on the jab is available at www.immunisation.ie.
