New painting celebrates Dunmore man beating cancer

The painting was created by one of his closest friends

A DUNMORE man has celebrated recently beating cancer with a unique personal portrait, painted by one of his closest friends.

Richard Kelly was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a rare type of blood cancer last November. What followed was six months of intensive treatment sessions at the Galway Clinic and University Hospital Galway (UHG) ahead of Richard successfully going into remission in June.

It was earlier this year, while still fighting his battle with cancer, that the idea for the painting was first mooted.

“I joked that if I was to pass away, I would have no decent picture to use in the memorial card. That’s when my good friend Kieran Dowling stepped in and offered to help by painting a portrait of me,” Richard told The Tuam Herald at the art exhibition in Dunmore, where the portrait was hung as part of the Dunmore Festival.

“What he created was much larger than I expected. This is like something Donald Trump would get commissioned. It’s an awful size but I love it.”

Kieran's creation was one that drew a lot attention during the exhibition, due to its prime position at the entrance to the hall and because it was bigger than a lot of the other works on display.

After ten years of friendship, built up by many evenings together tackling local quiz nights, he was more than happy to paint something so meaningful for Richard. For those who looked closely, it included nods to other parts of Richard’s life.

“I enter a national portrait painting competition every year. I’ve never had any success in it, but I thought Richard would make a great subject. I’m happy he agreed to me painting him, as it’s a lovely piece which I’m very proud of,” stated Kieran.

“I completed it over the Easter holidays using old photographs of him. A dog jumped into one of them and that gave me more inspiration for the painting. Richard loves fishing and if you look at the painting in more detail you will notice that there’s a trout in the background.”

It has been a roller-coaster year for Richard, who praised the incredible care he has received over the past few months.

This came from Dr Helen McHugh, who during a routine check-up convinced Richard to get a colonoscopy he had been putting off, to Dr Alan Coss in the Galway Clinic, who oversaw the procedure and first diagnosed him with cancer last November.

Richard also highlighted the immense work put in by Dr Janusz Krawczyk, who took charge of his treatment, and Fiona Flaherty, the local community nurse who regularly replaced his bandages and offered support when he was at his lowest points.

However, one of the most vital cogs in his recovery was the team from the Claddagh ward in UHG, a ward catering for patients undergoing cancer treatment.

“I was treated wonderfully by the staff in the Claddagh ward, I can’t speak highly enough of them. Not enough people are aware of the great work they are doing here every day. It is just a shame there is so little capacity there, spaces are extremely limited,” added Richard.

“They are catering for patients coming from Donegal to Limerick, while there are other specialised treatments provided in Galway that lead to patients from as far as Cork coming through their doors.

“I really hope their capacity can be extended as soon as possible, as it's sad hearing about people left waiting long periods for treatment that can prolong their lives,” he concluded.