SHANNON HEALTH campaigner, James Johnston has died after a battle with cancer.
Since the tragic death of his daughter Aoife in December 2022 at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), James along with his wife Carol and daughters Meaghan and Kate fought for justice, for better health services in the Mid-West region and to keep the memory of their beloved Aoife alive.
James was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer in the summer of 2024 and on Friday he died peacefully at Milford Care Centre surrounded by his loving family.
Despite his ill health, James continued to fight for justice following Aoife’s death. She was left waiting for over thirteen hours for antibiotics at UHL, she was not assessed by a doctor over twelve hours despite having a letter from her GP advising that she had suspected sepsis. Limerick coroner, John McNamara declared Aoife’s death a medical misadventure following her four-day inquest in April 2024.
From Cronan Lawn in Shannon, James is survived by his heartbroken family, wife Carol, daughters Meagan and Kate, mother Evelyn, brothers Adrian and Mark, sister Maxine, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins, extended family, neighbours and his many friends. He is predeceased by his beloved daughter Aoife and father Jim.
Members of the Mid-West Hospital Campaign said they were thinking of the Johnston family but said James was “reunited with his beloved daughter Aoife. Reunited in a place that time and distance no longer matter”.
Speaking previously, James said that no family should have to endure their loss when insisting the people of the Mid-West needed action not words when it came to better health services in the region. He stated in 2024, “Let’s hope that is it not all talk. They need to get on with it and sort it out. No more people should die in that hospital. For 100 percent they need to sort it out”. Speaking on Prime Time in October 2024, James said, “I just didn’t think she was going to die. If I had known, I would have torn the place apart”.
Aoife’s death led to two inquiries and disciplinary proceedings against six senior staff at UHL over the circumstances of her final hours. The Johnston family had been vocal in declaring that only a full statutory inquiry would provide them with answers. They said previous inquiries failed to provide accountability, and conflicts of evidence over measures that could have mitigated overcrowding on the night she died remain unresolved.
