Memorial service for the late Professor Jim Dornan takes place in St Anne’s Cathedral

Over 600 family, friends, colleagues, and close acquaintances of the late Professor Jim Dornan descended on Belfast’s St Anne’s Cathedral Sunday evening to fondly remember his life and many accomplishments. As a result of the government restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, the family of the late Professor Dornan were unable to have a funeral to mark and mourn his untimely passing after catching the virus in March 2021.

As guests ascended the steps of Belfast Cathedral they were warmly greeted by the Archdeacon of Belfast Rev Barry Forde, who led the service of remembrance which got underway at 2pm with the late Professor Dornan’s three children Jamie, Leisa and Jess, whom he shared with his late first wife Lorna, all taking the opportunity to share with the congregation happy memories and lasting impressions of their father.

Across an afternoon service punctuated by uplifting music from Belfast Community Gospel Choir and tenor Paul Byrom and traditional music from fiddle player Cormac Duffin, numerous speakers reflected on the great life of the late Professor Jim Dornan. After the formalities came to an end, guests mingled within the cathedral whilst enjoying an array of refreshments from Northern Ireland social enterprise Loaf Catering.

Professor Dornan’s wife and close partner in their long-time shared passion and vocation for maternal foetal medicine, Dr Samina Dornan was also in attendance, alongside many of their shared professional colleagues and friends, with more tuning in via live stream from across the world.

Taking to the pulpit, daughter Liesa referred to her father as her ‘pillar of strength and guiding hand,’ and referred to epic adventures, his genius wit and ‘endless energy for life.’ Daughter Jessica also reflected on his ‘impulsiveness paired with generosity’ and claimed it was the ‘honour of their lives' being the children of Jim Dornan. Wrapping up her eulogy, Jess urged all guests to ‘be more Jim' in their everyday lives. Son Jamie echoed these sentiments by sharing Professor Dornan’s sense of fun, interest and mischief, ability to ‘see and bring out the best in people,’ and incredible closeness with his seven grandchildren.

The service shone a light on the late Professor Dornan’s personal life, successes, talents, and passions; from improving global healthcare to furthering women’s rights. It highlighted his vast range of talents and successes reaching beyond his outstanding achievements in medicine, in which he excelled. Professor Dornan never shirked from taking on the establishment in the best interests of women and was a tremendous public speaker, having received wide-ranging invitations to lecture, debate and speak around the world. His humour and happiness was a common thread across memories shared with guests.

In his own personal life, Professor Dornan overcame leukaemia, which drove him to take on increasing involvement in leading roles in several Northern Ireland charities including ones dedicated to Pancreatic cancer and Leukaemia. He also played a major role as a founding member and President for over 30 years of TinyLife.

His commitment to research and passion for supporting parents of premature babies was acknowledged as the service drew to an end by Dr Eliz Bannon OBE, who announced the very first recipient of the Professor JC Dornan Award, an award developed by the charity and the Dornan family to support research or quality improvement projects directly linked with the Mission and Vision of TinyLife including improving the quality of neonatal care, improving premature birth survival rates, and addressing short term and long term care needs cause by premature birth, among others. The recipient, Dr Catherine Black, was successful with her application for a project called ‘Buttercup’ Babies: A safer and more efficient discharge process for NICU infants with complex medical problems.

The Dornan Family and TinyLife have welcomed contributions made to TinyLife in Professor Dornan’s memory. Donations in his honour can be made online at https://www.tinylife.org.uk/donate/