Cork songwriter releases powerful music video tribute to organ donors

Pa Curran performing at the single launch in the Mariner, Bantry (Photo from Facebook)

"I am alive... because somebody decided to be an organ donor. A hero. My hero."

Back in May, we brought you the story of Pa Curran and his campaign to raise awareness of the need for organ donation. Pa had written and recorded a moving charity single called “Unintentional Hero” as a tribute to organ donors.

The single was released last Friday and went straight to No. 1 in the Irish singer/songwriter charts. Today, the music video was released and it is a powerful tribute to the organ donors, recipients and their families.

Pa Curran was inspired to write the song in memory of all the "unintentional heroes" - those who have saved lives by donating their organs. The idea originally came to him after one of his best friends - fellow musician, Taidhg Burke Neff - was killed in a car accident last October.

Just three weeks later, Pa, a Geography and PE teacher from Bantry in Cork, attended the funeral of another friend, fellow teacher Alan Feely. Alan had suffered a brain bleed after collapsing at the gym.

Both Taidgh and Alan donated their organs.

Pa told breakingnews.ie that the inspiration for the video came on the long drive back from Alan's funeral.

"I was driving back from Claremorris to Bantry and the idea for the video just came to me. I had already been asked to write a song in tribute to Taidgh and there had been a lot of talk about organ donation at both funerals and I thought it would be a way to raise awareness about organ donation".

That the song is doing so well is a fitting tribute to Taidgh, who was a member of a successful local band, the Calvinists.

"Taidgh was the one who pushed me into songwriting. It's ironic that my most successful song would end up being about him."

The concept of the video is striking in its simplicity - those who have received organ donations acknowledging the gift they were given by their "heroes" .

Families, friends and supporters at the single launch (Facebook)

Pa was put in contact with 38 families whose lives have been affected by organ donation after being interviewed on the Ray Darcy Show on Today FM. 20 families went on to appear in the music video. Pa says he is still in regular contact with many of them and believes that making the video has been of enormous benefit to them.

“I've been getting so many emails. It has been a huge part of the healing process, of their grieving,” he said.

“It's really helped them. Most of them had never spoken about the organ donation. The video and the song have given them a forum to talk about it."

It was also a chance for the families to meet those whose lives have been saved by organ donation and for them to see the huge positive effect that organ donation can have.

"It was the first time many of the families had met someone who had received an organ. There was 90 people at one point and there was a very powerful feeling in the room. It was a very emotional day."

Pa Curran plays Coughlan's bar on Douglas Street in Cork on Friday, July 11th.

You can buy "Unintentional Hero" from iTunes or from the Tower Records website. All proceeds from the sale of the single will go directly to the Irish Kidney Association and the Strangeboat foundation

To find out more, visit Pa's website or Facebook page.