Peter Halligan was a patient at St. Joseph’s Hospice for a staggering 34 years, from 1982 until he passed away in 2016. Peter’s brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and Sharon Halligan, wanted to share Peter’s story to mark the hospice's 50th anniversary, in tribute to Peter, his brother Billy, and their parents, Ben and Irene, as well as to Father O’Leary who transformed their lives after such a devastating accident.
In 1982, Peter was an apprentice bricklayer with Tysons and was planning his 21st birthday party. He was raised in Old Swan with his mum, dad, five brothers, and one sister. Stephen says that Peter was a quiet and shy person but, at home, he was a real torment and giggler and enjoyed played tricks on the family.
On 25th March 1982, Peter popped to the local pharmacy to pick up a prescription for his dad. On his way there, Peter was hit by a car and suffered a punctured lung and several broken bones, including his ribs. He was taken to Broadgreen Hospital and sedated to allow his lung to heal but, after about 11 days, Peter suffered a cardiac arrest and lost consciousness. He suffered a severe brain damage and spent six months in intensive care.
Stephen recalls: “Peter’s brain damage left him awake but unresponsive. We were initially told he was in a coma but they were doing lots of brain scans and tests. They didn’t know how bad it was or even if he could hear us. That was the worst time for all of us. Eventually they told us there was nothing else they could do for him and he only had 6-12 months to live. They read the last rites to him twice while he was in hospital.
“The doctors said they could no longer care for him but there was a facility in Manchester that could take him. My parents were absolutely distraught. They had never been out of Old Swan and didn’t have a car so Manchester felt a very long way from home. But, one evening when my mum was at the hospital, she said that two figures suddenly appeared in the doorway. It was Father O’Leary and Philomena O’Leary. They told my mum that they had heard about Peter and they had a place in Thornton where they would look after him and that it would be their honour to care for him. We still don’t really know how Father O’Leary found out about Peter but my mum always believed it was an absolute miracle.”
Back in the 1980s, hospices were a very new concept with no admissions policies or regulatory bodies but Father O’Leary’s deep compassion for those who needed palliative care meant that he would, by any means possible, care for anyone who needed it, for as long as they needed it.
Peter moved to St. Joseph’s Hospice in September 1982 and moved in to a room in San José with two other patients, Ernie Lee and Bob Kinder, who had been the first patients at the hospice. They took Peter under their wing and really looked after him. There were usually five or six patients in that room at any one time, which is in stark contrast to today’s single bedrooms.
“As soon as Peter arrived at the hospice, our family changed completely and the hospice became our life. We went from being a family of nine to a Jospice family that included staff and volunteers. Peter had visitors every day and night from family, friends and work mates but, most of all, my mum and dad who practically lived there with him there for three decades. For the first ten years, we believed he might regain some responsiveness so we would spend hours every day talking, joking and playing music for him. His favourite team, Liverpool FC, even made a special tape for him.”
The Halligan family began a lifetime of fundraising for the hospice and everyone on their street joined in. Their neighbours in Old Swan, and the employers of family and friends, all became their extended family too and they had collection boxes everywhere. They held garden fetes and organised fundraising events, took part in marathons and sky dives. They always had a Halligan family stall at the hospice garden party and their children grew up attending the hospice’s Teddy Bears Picnic. Peter’s dad Ben became great friends with Father O’Leary and they used to do a lot of fundraising together.
Stephen fondly remembers family Christmases spent with Peter. He said: “Every Christmas, my dad would drive to Jospice to pick Peter up in a borrowed ambulance and bring him home so we could all spend Christmas day together. In later years, once my siblings and I had all left home, my mum and dad always went to Jospice on Christmas Day to have dinner with Peter and their Jospice family. My mum and dad were so happy there, the hospice was their whole life and they felt very loved and at home there.
In 2002, one of Peter’s older brothers, Billy, was diagnosed with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis at just 45 years old. After five years, he stopped eating, had lost a lot of weight and his body was failing. The family felt that he was ready to die and the hospital wanted to move him to a nursing home. Thankfully, a room became available at the hospice and Billy moved in in 2007.
“We were so pleased that Billy was able to go to the hospice. He felt immediately at home in his room and regained his appetite. He was allowed to smoke and listen to his favourite music and the nurses used to take Peter to visit him.”
Six months after Billy moved to the hospice with Peter, their dad Ben died of lung cancer. Stephen said: “Even to the very end of his life, my dad would go to the hospice to visit Billy and Peter. None of us knew how poorly he was. He was admitted to hospital for some tests and died a few days later.
Billy passed away in 2010, after almost three years at the hospice. In 2011, Peter moved in to a brand new room in St. Francis House, after the former Academy building had been redeveloped.
“On Peter’s 50th birthday in August 2011, we wanted to do something extra special. It was a massive surprise when the nurses managed to arrange a visit from Kenny Dalglish, who played for Liverpool FC when Peter was growing up. Kenny kindly presented Peter with a very special signed Liverpool FC shirt with his name and 50 on it, which we framed for Peter’s room. Kenny even remembered making the tape for Peter back in 1982 with all the players. We were all completely star struck and it was a very special day.”
Due to his condition, Peter eventually began struggling to breathe. He had developed COPD. Peter died at the hospice on 10th March 2016. His funeral took place at St. Oswald’s Church in Old Swan and the church was packed. Around 30 members of staff and volunteers from the hospice were there, many of whom had cared for Peter their whole careers. The hospice staff performed a guard of honour for Peter as he was carried in to the church.
Peter was cremated and later interred with his mum when she died in 2019. They were both laid to rest along with Billy and their dad at Allerton Cemetery.
Ben and Irene devoted their wholes lives to caring for their children but Stephen says they had a brilliant life: “When we were kids, we never went on holiday because we had no money. When Peter came to the hospice, they suddenly had a life. They had loads of friends and went on pilgrimages abroad to Lourdes, Knock, and The Vatican with Peter and the hospice staff. They had more faith than ever and they loved being a part of the hospice. As my mum got older, she started to worry about who would look after Peter once she was no longer around so she was actually relived that Peter died before she did as she knew she wouldn’t be leaving him alone.”