Caroline Harrison: Caroline Harrison, who has died aged 62, was a psychotherapist who specialised in sex and relationship therapy having begun her professional working life as a mother and maker of quality dresses.
By the time of her death, she had made a notable contribution in the field of in vitro fertilisation and was a valued adviser to government on the rehabilitation of sex offenders and on assisted human reproduction.
Caroline Harrison was born Caroline Margaret Leyshon Hughes in London on July 21st, 1945. She was educated at Virgo Fidelis Convent in Upper Norwood, South London. While a schoolgirl she also worked part-time in her father's shop, The Linen House in London's Baker Street.
She met Robbie Harrison, her future lifelong husband, who was attending the conveniently nearby boys' school, St Joseph's, in 1961. She left school in 1963 to train at the London School of Dress Design. In September 1964 she married Robbie, a medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Immediately afterwards, the couple went to Dublin so Robbie could continue his studies.
Caroline worked in Dublin with the iconic 1960s Irish couturier Clodagh as a dress designer until her first daughter was born in 1965. She turned to quality dressmaking to make ends meet, and the family survived so well because of Caroline's exceptional managerial, organisational and culinary skills.
In 1972, now with three children, she left for London as Robbie was now training there in obstetrics and gynaecology. They returned to Ireland in July 1976, with a fourth child, Charlotte, on Robbie's appointment as senior lecturer to Trinity College and consultant to the Rotunda Hospital.
They settled in Ballyedmonduff on the side of the magical Three Rock Mountain in Co Wicklow, and it was to be here that Caroline would create a beautiful home and garden for family and friends to enjoy.
In 1977, with all children now in school, she entered Trinity College Dublin as a mature student. She became a Bachelor of Social Studies with a certificate of qualification in social work in 1981, finishing at the top of her class. She proceeded on to the Department of Community Health TCD, completing her Masters in Science in 1982 with a thesis entitled The Effect of Down Syndrome on the Family.
Between 1983 and 2000 she was an assistant lecturer in the Social Studies Department in TCD, where she taught group work and counselling to undergraduates and diploma students. During this time she became involved in setting up a family and marital therapy service at the Rutland Addiction Treatment Centre. From 1983 until 1989, she was the Rutland Centre co-ordinator of aftercare, social-research consultant and ran courses to train facilitators and on partnership enhancement.
She became a member of the Irish Association of Social Workers in 1981, and was accredited by the Irish Association of Counsellors in 1990. She was a member of the steering committee that set up the Irish Association of Alcohol and Addiction Counsellors in 1991 and treasurer until 1993. She was also a member of the steering committee that set up the Diploma in Counselling in University College Dublin.
She was one of the first from Ireland to become accredited to the British Association of Sex and Marital Therapists in 1993, and in 1994 was registered with the UK Council for Psychotherapy.
Together with her husband, Caroline was a member of the team at St James's Hospital that developed the first Irish in vitro fertilisation service in a public hospital in 1986. In 1989 she helped found the Human Assisted Reproduction Unit at the Rotunda Hospital, where she was the sex and relationship psychotherapist until retirement in 2005.
Caroline played a major part in creating the patient-friendly atmosphere that continues to this day. She was a founder member of the Irish Fertility Society and an invited speaker at their inaugural meeting 2005. She was frequently invited to speak at both national and international congresses.
Caroline was invited by then minister for justice Máire Geogheghan-Quinn to bring her skills to the innovative sex-offenders programme at Arbour Hill Prison through membership of the Visiting Committee 1994-97. In March 2000 she was appointed to the Government Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction by then health minister Micheál Martin. Both of these appointments came as a surprise for Caroline was a modest person who never actively sought recognition through her work.
Caroline lived a full, creative and productive personal life. Her family were always her first love and she was devoted to Robbie. She was immensely proud of her children Peta, Sinead, Robert, and Charlotte and her grandchildren Eve, Layth and Olivia.
Her hobbies were her garden, music, tennis, swimming and body-balance. In latter years she rediscovered her passion for painting. As a schoolgirl, her work had been exhibited in the London Royal Academy annual children's exhibitions on five occasions.
Stimulated by classes including those in the Kilternan Adult Education Centre under Olivia Hayes and also those of Tom Roche, she developed her very real talent as a watercolourist and exhibited widely. She was accepted as a member of the Dublin Arts Society and very recently the Dublin Painting and Sketching Club.
In November 2006 Caroline was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Initially she responded to the superb treatment at the Mater hospital and endeavoured to carry on life as normal. But soon it became obvious that the cancer had never really gone away.
A team involving her family doctor and the Blackrock Hospice Home Care provided expert palliative care from November. Medical predictions were confounded for some time but in mid-January, she chose to go into the Blackrock Hospice. Ironically, a few years earlier, Caroline had ran mini-marathons for them.
On the morning of January 22nd, 2008, this talented, determined, gracious and dignified lady died peacefully. A bright star has been extinguished too soon, and the loss to her family and friends is incalculable.
Caroline Harrison: born July 21st, 1945; died January 22nd, 2008