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Frank Deasy (19 May 1959 – 17 September 2009) was an
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
screenwriter. He won an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for the television series ''
Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...
'' and was also nominated for his works, ''
Looking After Jo Jo ''Looking After Jo Jo'' is a 1998 BBC Scotland television drama starring Robert Carlyle. John Joe "Jo Jo" McCann is petty thief turned drug dealer in 1980's Edinburgh, surviving in a bleak housing estate and aspiring to the trappings of a succ ...
'' and ''
The Grass Arena ''The Grass Arena'' is an autobiography that was made into a British film released in 1991. It is based on the true story of John Healy. The book had been out of print for a number of years, but was re-issued on 31 July 2008. Storyline Raised ...
''. His other works included the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
/
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
, '' The Passion''.IMDb bio
/ref> Preceding his death from
liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...
on 17 September 2009, Deasy spoke in public about his condition. An appearance on
RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...
's ''
Liveline ''Liveline'' is an Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which is currently presented by Joe Duffy and known for its slogan "Talk to Joe", seeks the ...
'' led to a record increase in
organ donor Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the assent of the next of kin. Donation may be for re ...
card requests in Ireland.


Life and career

Deasy was a native of
Artane, Dublin Artane, sometimes spelt Artaine (), historically TartaineDublin, 1862: Thom's ''Almanac and Official Directory'' is a northside suburb of Dublin city, Ireland. Artane is also a civil parish in the ancient barony of Coolock. Neighbouring d ...
. He initially worked as a child carer with Ireland's Eastern Health Board. He relocated to
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland, where he died in 2009, having "liked it so much he never came home". His career credits include ''
Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...
'' and '' The Passion''. James Walton of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' described ''The Passion'' as "exactly the kind of intelligent and engaging drama you'd expect from a series written by Frank Deasy". For RTÉ he wrote '' Father & Son'', which achieved 26% and 27% audience shares for its first two episodes broadcast on
RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís à ...
in 2009 and was consistently within Ireland's Top Ten television programmes throughout its run. ''Father & Son'' features a character, Barrington Smith, who suffers from kidney malfunction and must escape from prison to find a cure. In spite of this success, John Spain in the ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' commented that Deasy was still not very well known in Ireland at this time. He also wrote films and had a co-credit on
Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...
's ''
Prozac Nation ''Prozac Nation'' is a memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel published in 1994. The book describes the author's experiences with atypical depression, her own character failings and how she managed to live through particularly difficult periods while compl ...
'', featuring Christina Ricci,
Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. She is the 13th actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, along with a Screen Actors G ...
and
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
. Deasy was working on ''Gaza'', a
BBC Films BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Part ...
drama due to begin filming in October 2009, at the time of his death. One year before his death, ''Gaza'' featured on the "Brit List", which features the most deserving unproduced screenplays in Ireland and the United Kingdom. He was also supposed to be writing an eight-part BBC drama series about the
House of Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mug ...
. He was also due to follow a family over a century for RTÉ.


Health

Deasy was first diagnosed with
liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...
four years before his death. He underwent surgery to remove the tumour but it was found to have returned in January 2009. Days before his death from the disease, Deasy began discussing his condition in public forums. On his final Sunday, ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' featured an article detailing his suffering and using it to request more organ donors. Deasy said: "I am only one of thousands of patients on
organ transplant Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transpo ...
lists in Britain, living on our own, invisible, death row". Actor
Dougray Scott Stephen Dougray Scott (born 25 November 1965) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared in the films ''Ever After'' (1998), '' Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000), ''Enigma'' (2001), ''Hitman'' (2007), and ''My Week with Marilyn'' (2011). Early life Sc ...
, who starred in Deasy's drama ''Father & Son'', supported him in ''The Observer''. Deasy's words were echoed in ''The Observer''s editorial which called for an enforcement of presumed consent. The following day, Deasy's story was carried by ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'' newspaper. Later that day, he appeared on
Joe Duffy Joseph Duffy (born 27 January 1956) is an Irish broadcaster employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). One of RTÉ's highest-earning stars, he is the current presenter of ''Liveline'', an interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTà ...
's ''
Liveline ''Liveline'' is an Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which is currently presented by Joe Duffy and known for its slogan "Talk to Joe", seeks the ...
'' programme on
RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...
appealing for more organ donors and insisting that it was a "very urgent matter". On the day his death was reported it was confirmed that a record of at least 5,500 people had applied to become holders of organ donor cards since the interview, 2,000 immediately afterwards and a further 3,500 the following day. By comparison, a similar request on '' The Late Late Show'' in 2007 yielded only 1,000 more donor applicants. The ''
Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...
'' carried Deasy's story on 16 September, one day before his death in
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...
. The figures had risen to 10,000 one day after Deasy's death, three times the amount usually received during an annual appeal. His
blood group A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates ...
(B) is that which makes up 10% of people, meaning he could only have received a transplant from such a group. Deasy resided in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
at the time of his death in hospital. He was survived by his wife, Marie and their three children. A seminar on organ donation inspired by Deasy took place in Dublin seven weeks to the day after his death.


Tributes

Mark Murphy, CEO of the Irish Kidney Association, praised Deasy's "selflessness" during his final days alive. Anthony Jones, Deasy's
literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...
, said he was a "wonderful, funny, tough and clever man". RTÉ Television's
commissioning editor In book publishing, a commissioning editor is essentially a buyer. It is the job of the commissioning editor to advise the publishing house on which books to publish. Usually the actual decision of whether to contract a book is taken by a senior ma ...
for Drama, Jane Gogan, said Deasy "brought a tremendous honesty and passionate intensity to his work" who "will be a big loss as a friend and inspiration to those he worked with but, more importantly, as a husband and father his loss will be incalculable". Actor Dougray Scott called Deasy "quite simply the most extraordinary and brilliant writer I have ever worked with and one of the most extraordinary and beautiful men I was blessed to have met" and said: "Today a great, great man was taken away from us. Very few times in life is one fortunate and blessed enough to meet a person like Frank Deasy. ..Whenever I spent time or talked with Frank I always felt the warmth, wisdom and sheer joy of life that I remember getting from my own father. That's how special he was to me. He had everything I admire in a human being. Protective, caring and loving to his very special wife and children. And brave. So brave. Frank Deasy will be with me always". In its editorial on 18 September 2009, the ''Evening Herald'' said Deasy "gave hope to thousands".


Awards and nominations


References


External links


Deasy's article
in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
''—13 September 2009
Deasy podcasts
on ''
Liveline ''Liveline'' is an Irish radio interview and phone-in chat show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday afternoon between 13.45 and 15.00. The programme, which is currently presented by Joe Duffy and known for its slogan "Talk to Joe", seeks the ...
'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deasy, Frank 2009 deaths Deaths from liver cancer Primetime Emmy Award winners Irish screenwriters Irish male screenwriters People from Artane, Dublin Film people from Glasgow Deaths from cancer in Scotland Irish television writers 1959 births Male television writers 20th-century screenwriters