Dr. Charles Lorigan - a life of service to Cavan

The death of Dr. Charles Lorigan, Ballyhaise, symbolises the end of an era in General Practice in Co. Cavan and the Border region. As a practising GP and hospital medical officer for practically half a century, he was on top of his brief in terms of diagnosing, prescribing and caring for the health needs of a large population that stretched across a large segment of Co. Cavan and indeed over the Border into Northern Ireland. Tall and imposing, Dr. Lorigan was renowned for his total commitment to his calling; for his humanity, his wit and for that charm that lifted many a heart or enlivened many a gathering. The huge turnout at his funeral in Ballyhaise on Tuesday symbolised the stature of the man - with so many people taking off work to pay their respects to a beloved family doctor. Charles Lorigan was born in Belfast on June 8, 1919 but was brought up in Meath Place in the Liberties. A gifted child, he went on to excel at school and then at university, graduating in medicine from UCD in 1943. His first posting was in the Royal Hospital, Manchester, where his undoubted medical ability was quickly recognised and valued in a country heavily engaged in a major world conflict. He remained in England in the years immediately after the war but in 1953 a life-changing decision made it a case of it being Manchester's loss and Cavan's gain. He acquired a GP practice in Ballyhaise, moving there with his new wife, Katherine (nee Collins), a radiographer by profession, who is a native of Co. Tipperary. Dr. Charles Lorigan would work as a doctor in County Cavan from then until his retirement in 1999. He worked seven days a week running a busy surgery and performing day and night sick calls unless physically out of he county. He had a great affection for the people of Cavan whom he loved and they in turn embraced him as one of their own. With Ballyhaise being just four miles from the Border it was logical that his practice should extend into Northern Ireland and he had many patients in those parishes immediately north of the Border. He had a great sense of humour and while he had an impatience with inefficiency and wasted opportunity he was always pleasant and optimistic in his outlook on life. As a medical practitioner he was held in highest esteem by his colleagues in the profession and by all his patients both those who attended his GP practice and by the many patients whom he treated and cared for as Medical Officer for many years at St. Felim's Hospital and also at the former Lisdaran hospital. The affection in which he was held by staff at both hospitals was another indication of his standing as a medical practitioner responsible for patient care in hospital settings that didn't have the resources which are available today. Charles Lorigan had a deep commitment to Ballyhaise and to his adopted county. In the industrialisation of Ireland in the 1960s he was one of a group of local professional and business people who came together to explore ways of establishing an indigenous industry that would have business potential to provide jobs in a county with a long history of emigration. Cavan Crystal was born and went on to be a flagship business for the county over the next forty years. Charles Lorigan was one of the founder directors of Cavan Crystal. A colleague who served with him on the board of directors of the company described him as highly intelligent. Evening though he was a professional man he had a great business acumen and his contributions to board meetings were always solid. He was a man you could rely upon, was how he described Charles Lorigan who would also serve as a director of Royal Tara bone china. The late Dr. Charles Lorigan was primarily a family man who had a long and loving relationship with his wife, Katherine. Also very dear to his heart was the well being of his children, Michael, Charles, Eleanor, Hugh, Paul, David and Jane. Along with his wife and children he is survived by his remaining sister, Patricia. Father Ray Brady, PP, was celebrant of the Requiem Mass on Tuesday and in his homily spoke of the immense contribution that Dr. Lorigan made to the well being of the people of Ballyhaise and to the good of the overall county. A poem read at the funeral Mass evoked a tremendous sense of the man. It read: "He may be a white man, or an African, Parsee, Jan or Muhammadan; "He maybe a pagan through and through He maybe a Christian or a Jew, Confucius may have formed his creed Yet I think God loves him indeed For he fulfils his neighbour's need He is the doctor." Dr. Charles Lorigan was laid to rest in the local cemetery.