It is with great sadness that we inform you of the sudden passing of our friend and comrade, Jacqui Brown who passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Monday 23rd June after a short illness.
Jacqui was a genuine trailblazer in the Disability Rights Movement in Ireland and her loss will be felt by her many friends and comrades.
Jacqui, a proud Kerry woman, identified as a thalidomide survivor as opposed to a “thalidomide victim”. She spent many of her childhood years in hospital which influenced her strong drive for independence. Equally, these childhood experiences fuelled her hunger for activism, which was underpinned by her experiences with medical professionals who focused on impairments as opposed to the right to access supports to facilitate inclusion.
Jacqui returned to education while working in the bank to study a BA in UCD. During this time, she connected with other Disabled activists; Maureen McGovern, Steve Daunt, Peter Kearns, Michael Fox, Dermot Hayes and Donal Toolin. Together, they founded the Forum of People with Disabilities. Jacqui was at the forefront of the first campaign to secure voting rights for Disabled People. As a founding member of the Forum, Jacqui played a key role on the Commission on Status of People with Disabilities. The Commission published a report “A Strategy for Equality” which was a blueprint for disability rights in Ireland.
Jacqui had a real passion for driving strategic change for disabled people. Those who knew Jacqui well admired her incredible insight, her razor-sharp memory and her acute analytical skills. Jacqui always had her eye on the bigger picture while remaining cognisant of the key messages.
Jacqui never sought the limelight. She was actively involved in policy development in order to ensure that the voice of Disabled persons and our Rights was on the agenda. She was a powerful public speaker and her ability to connect policy to practice was widely recognised. Jacqui was a leader, but she was a genuine mentor to many Disabled People. She was passionate about the collective empowerment of Disabled People and gave her time generously in online workshops ensuring she shared her knowledge and expertise.
Jacqui was a member of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) Disability Advisory Committee (DAC). Jacqui was also chairperson of DESSA – the national Disability Equality Specialist Support Agency, a board member of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Irish Thalidomide Association. She was also actively involved as a patient advocate in IPPOSI – the Irish Platform for Patient Organisations, Science and Industry and is a EUPATI Fellow – European Patient Advocacy Training Initiative.
As a member of the DAC, one of Jacqui’s most significant recent contributions to Disabled Persons’ rights was her work in developing the DPO Coalition, and later the DPO Network Jacqui was elected as independent chair of both the Coalition and Network which is a testament to the trust and respect which her colleagues had for her.
Over the last three years, she guided the DPO Network to a position of prominence and her leadership resulted in the Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (DECDIY, or as Jacqui called them “the department of everything” )to work with the Network to co-create the forthcoming National Disability Strategy.
This strategy’s successes are the hallmarks of Jacqui’s work, a legacy to her approach to her drive for strategic change. They were based on her ability to connect with politicians and policy makers alike, to build allyship without ever compromising her values. Her passion for collective change brought the DPO Network members right into the process of policy development in ways that have never happened before.
Jacqui joined the board of ILMI in September 2020, and she was appointed secretary. She was a wonderful board member and deeply committed to the work of ILMI as a DPO. She was hugely supportive of the ILMI staff and regularly participated in policy discussions. True to Jacqui’s ethos, she was always very clear that her role support and empower others up in the Movement. When called upon, Jacqui would take on roles for ILMI while considering how others could take those roles into the future.
Those of us who were fortunate enough to know Jacqui as a person knew someone with a passion for life. She had a wicked sense of humour and a genuine love for conversation. She was a wonderful host to anyone who visited her in Kerry or Dublin, kind and generous. To her closest friends she was kind, warm and supportive, always there for a chat or a series of quickfire WhatsApp messages when they were most needed.
She was passionate about sailing, swimming and rugby and shared many an interest, but never lost sight of a good chat over a G&T.
Her passing leaves a huge void within the Movement. Jacqui’s legacy is immense. We will remember her as the person who is responsible for the emergence of DPOs and as the key driver in ensuring State recognition of the vital role of DPOs now and in the future in making the UNCRPD a reality.
Her input at last year’s Department of Public Expenditure and Reform “Disability Symposium” clearly explained the challenges of co-creation, but also what it would mean if it were really implemented:
“Co-creation as a process requires honesty, transparency and at its core, bravery. We need to be brave to recognise the challenges. We need to be brave to admit that only by having a shared understanding of what we mean by disability can we truly have a sense of the scale of how to implement the UNCRPD in Ireland. We need to be brave to admit that no-one has the answers, and part of finding the answers is to journey in partnership to explore them. We need to be brave to admit that mistakes will be made, but that with a shared set of values we can be brave to trust each other that change is not only essential but possible.”
Jacqui made change possible, and she made that journey to co-creation with DPOs a reality. We all owe her a debt for what she was part of building, but also a debt to build on her considerable legacy.
ILMI would like to express our deepest condolences to Jacqui’s family and friends at this time.
Rest in power Jacqui.