PHA Ireland 2023 AGM Report

The AGM of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association – Ireland took place in Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown on Saturday April 22nd. The event was very well attended with over 75 people present. The overall event was sponsored by Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Following introductory remarks by Martin Breen, the first session was a Q&A session between Prof. Sean Gaine and Martin Breen, with questions that had been provided by patients over the past number of weeks. This went down remarkably well with the audience.

This was followed by an update on Advances in PH by Dr. Brian McCullagh with close attention paid to his entire presentation. This was followed by a Tea/Coffee break which was sponsored by Air Liquide. The break was especially popular with patients and friends interacting with each other which is one of the key aims of the association.

Following the break Clinical Nurse Specialist, Ms. Catriona Minnock gave a presentation on aspects of PH with focus on Pathway to Papworth. This too was keenly followed by those present.

Dr. Ciara McCormack spoke about Physical exercise and breathing exercises for those with PH. A Home Physical Guide was available to all that required a copy after the presentation. Again this session was closely followed by all.

Before the break for lunch we had our guest speaker, Mr Dermot Rafter , Behaviour Specialist, Well Being Coach & Speaker. He gave a talk on Mindfulness and did a number of practical exercises throughout his session. This went down extremely well with participants and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Buffet Lunch with tea/coffee proved as popular as ever with a lot of peer interaction taking place.

Following lunch, we had a group discussion on the Patient Group and how to build it. The support from the group was superb and several patients/family & friends offered their services to the Association.

The event was attended by the entire Pulmonary Hypertension Team in The Mater Hospital which underpinned their support for the Association. I am extremely grateful to them all for their support.

We could not run such events without sponsorship and my sincere thanks to Janssen for being the main sponsor of the event and to Air Liquide for sponsoring the Tea/Coffee facilities. The hotel was an ideal venue given its proximity to M3/M50 and the facilities on offer.

Martin Breen.

See some images of the day below.