Congratulations Margaret from the Dunmurry Congregation!
June 2018
Between 12th-16th May 2018, 5000 nurses from throughout the UK attended the Annual Congress of the Royal Colleges of Nurses (RCN) at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. The opening of this momentous occasion featured an award ceremony during which Mrs Margaret Graham, Secretary and Elder to First Dunmurry NS Presbyterian Congregation, was presented with a National Royal College of Nurses Award for Merit for her outstanding contribution to nursing. This is a wonderful accolade and we wish Margaret the warmest of congratulations. That said anyone who knows Margaret, that she should receive such an award will not really be so surprising. Modesty prevented her telling anyone that she was going to be honoured in this way. Even her husband discovered this great news only a very short time before the presentation was made.
Needless to say, very few of these Awards are made, and selection is on the basis of nomination by colleagues. The Awards are made to nurses who have distinguished themselves in particular fields of service or research in the UK. Margaret’s Award recognises her work as a Health Visitor in North and West Belfast during the ‘Troubles.’ This included a number of care initiatives, among them a notable project to address the very high levels of teenage pregnancies in the area, which at this time were the highest in the UK.
More recently, Margaret was a key member of the Northern Ireland Nursing History Group, which produced ‘Nurses Voices from the Northern Ireland Troubles.’ This book is a collection of personal experiences of individual nurses from across Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles.’ The Groups latest efforts were directed to the publication of the contribution made by NI nurses during the First world War, Nurses Voices from WW1.
When news of the Award was announced in First Dunmurry NS Presbyterian Church on Sunday 13th May, Margaret received a standing ovation as everyone expressed how very proud of her we all are. Well done Margaret and very well deserved!
By Rev Linda Ballard.