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in May 1996, but this was rejected. Due to the ostracisation of sufferers in the communities, McCole attempted to use the pseudonym "Brigid Roe" but was refused. She sued the BTSB, the Irish state and the
National Drugs Advisory Board under her own name. Her health continued to deteriorate, but Positive Action and John Rogers SC kept the pressure up. McCole had attempted to have a full hearing in June 1996 due to her ailing health, but this was refused and a trial date was set for 8 October 1996.
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she accepted. McCole died of liver failure on 2 October, the first person to officially die as a direct consequence of hepatitis C caused by an infected Anti-D blood product. A public admission of liability was made on 8 October. In March 1997, the tribunal published its report, and later in August 1997 the McCole report was published and the compensation tribunal was established in law. In early 2002
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in Dublin for treatment. BTSB reacted slowly to the unfolding crisis, and did not admit liability or offer any compensation leading to the hepatitis C crisis becoming a national scandal. A group was formed to represent those affected, Positive Action. The Irish state did not intervene to speed up the
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health minister after a report criticised the BTSB's role in the crisis. Despite this, McCole decided to take her case to the high court, with the aim of finding the truth behind the scandal rather than compensation. In an attempt to head off the court case, the BTSB offered a settlement of £175,000
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at the time of the donation in 1976. Rather than being destroyed, it was kept and administered to a large group of people, primarily pregnant women. McCole had been experiencing a decline in her health since 1988, with pain and extreme fatigue. In 1994 the BTSB announced that women who had received
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McCole was in St
Vincent's Hospital, Dublin in late September 1996 dying, and was unlikely to be able to attend her high court hearing. The BTSB privately conceded liability. She was presented with the board's full admission and an offer of the original £175,000 compensation on 1 October 1996, and
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It emerged later that the lawyers involved in McCole's case were paid £1.35 million in fees, the majority of which was paid to the BTSB legal team. Noonan later spoke about the huge effect McCole had on him later in his political career, and the long-lasting effect of the scandal on Fine Gael.
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in Dublin in
November 1994. This meeting showed the President's solidarity with the campaigners, but due to the Irish political system, remained symbolic support. A photograph of McCole with Robinson led to her becoming a recognisable public figure.
79:, County Donegal on 21 June 1942. Her parents were John, labourer, and Ellen Sharkey (née McCole). She lived in County Donegal her whole life. On 14 August 1968 she married Brian "Briney" McCole (Mac Camhaill) from Loughaugher,
83:, a sheep farmer. They settled in Loughaugher. Between 1969 and 1982, McCole had 6 daughters and 6 sons. Her husband was chronically ill, which compounded the difficulty of raising so many children.
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from 1994 to 1996. The issue with infected blood products had been identified in 1989. The Anti-D was manufactured using the blood of a female patient who was known to have suffered from
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McCole's hardship was compounded as she had no access to private transport and with no rail service from County
Donegal, she travelled alone by bus between her home and
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during the 1970s, having received infected blood products during one of her pregnancies in
November 1977. She was given a blood product known as
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the Anti-D blood product should report for blood-tests for hepatitis C. It emerged that many women and men had been infected.
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Comparisons have been drawn between the treatment of McCole to more recent campaigners such as
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253:"Letter shows State saw Bridget McCole not as the victim but as the enemy"
335:"Uncomfortable parallels with Brigid McCole case must unsettle Fine Gael"
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282:"Noonan has long way to go in assuaging doubts over Brigid McCole case"
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67:(21 June 1942 – 2 October 1996) was an Irish hepatitis C campaigner.
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A compensation tribunal was announced in
September 1995 by
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Brigid McCole was born
Bridget Ellen Sharkey in Bunawack,
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in newborn babies. McCole came to prominence during the
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as McCole. Her husband died by suicide in August 2000.
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30:
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91:McCole discovered that she had been infected with
153:aired a drama series directed by Stephen Burke,
124:resolution of the crisis. McCole was one of the
308:"Blood money: lawyers £1.3m, McCole £175,000"
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201:. In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.).
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333:Clifford, Michael (27 February 2019).
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41:Bunawack, Glenties, County Donegal
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224:"An unspeakable act of betrayal"
199:"McCole, Brigid (Bridget) Ellen"
101:Blood Transfusion Services Board
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204:Dictionary of Irish Biography
57:St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin
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128:members who met President
381:Irish health activists
197:Long, Patrick (2009).
99:, manufactured by the
391:Deaths from hepatitis
386:Irish women activists
339:www.irishexaminer.com
71:Early life and family
35:Bridget Ellen Sharkey
16:Irish health activist
376:People from Glenties
109:hepatitis C scandal
105:haemolytic syndrome
314:. 10 February 1998
288:. 10 February 2001
167:Philomena Canning
121:Beaumont Hospital
103:(BTSB), to treat
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52:(1996-10-02)
38:21 June 1942
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371:1996 deaths
366:1942 births
312:Independent
228:Independent
157:, starring
93:hepatitis C
360:Categories
173:References
142:Fine Gael
155:No tears
113:jaundice
87:Activism
77:Glenties
344:1 July
318:1 July
292:1 July
263:1 July
234:1 July
140:, the
97:Anti-D
81:Crolly
346:2020
320:2020
294:2020
265:2020
236:2020
47:Died
31:Born
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