PEOPLE coming to addiction treatment service Saoirse remember arriving at the bottom of a steep staircase at their old building in Davis Street and looking up to see man with a wise-crack smile looking back at them as they began the long climb to a place of help.
Saoirse’s state-of-the-art new building in Clare Street still has a staircase, and Liam Ryan, one of the founders of the addiction services centre, will still be looking down at those needing help from the staircase – although he passed away almost two years ago.
At the official opening of the new building on Friday, paid for by the JP McManus Pro Am fund, Liam’s wife, Angela, and daughter, Avril, unveiled an oak-framed tribute portrait of the Saoirse co-founder, the frame having previously been made by the man himself for a different purpose.
Both women wore tiny butterfly pendants containing some of Liam’s ashes, making sure he was present on a day he would dearly have loved to see.
The butterfly is the symbol of the service, representing the transformational power of recovery.
“This is very emotional. I saw all he did behind the scenes, how he loved helping people,” said Liam’s wide Angela.
“He was a man who gave his all to everything he did, whether it was working as a carpenter and craftsman or working with people in this service. He applied the same principles, honesty and honour, to everything he did.”
Liam’s daughter Avril said that the family knew how much her father’s work with Saoirse meant to him “but we never got to hear the stories to know how many people he helped”.
“To see him honoured here today is overwhelming and we are so proud of him and all he did,” the proud daughter said.
